Café Kol
by Angel the Neko
Summary: Sequel to my other fic Café Cosplay. The Café Cosplay crew is back, along with new faces to the scene and old ones too. But when a new Café opens up on the block, it instantly becomes better than the old, outdated Café Cosplay! Will the team find a way around it? Or will a certain British waitress have to find herself another job? USUK, sequel, Kiku related anime references.
1. A tsutsun feeling of déjà vu

**Konnichiwa! Yes it's me, I'm back with your favourite cosplay café team! I just didn't want to leave it any longer, so I decided that I'd release this thing! For those of you just joining us, this is a sequel in case you hadn't read the description. If you want to read this, then I would first read the original- "Café Cosplay"**

**So, are you ready for new enemies, new twists, new characters but still the same old heroes, old friends and old outdated anime references?**

**Kiku: My anime references are not-**

**Tanoshimu!**

* * *

**Notes: **

**_First line (the song)_- Kokoro no Tamago, the very first opening theme of Shugo Chara.**

**_Discotheque_- The opening song of Rosario + Vampire Capu2.**

**_The 'Tsuntsun' closet thing_- Well when Japan explains the clothing thing, it's a slight reference to Haruhi Suzumiya. But it can also be referenced to quite a few animes. I was actually going for a Shugo Chara/ Haruhi Suzumiya thing.**

* * *

"Kitto- hoppu, steppu, jyanpu. Doruu, dorou, doroun. Chippu, shiroppu, hoippu. Naritai atashi."

The blonde haired girl finished the dance along with her two fellow co-workers: Eliza and Lili. At the back of the café, Britt could see Angie-the cleaner- applauding them happily and so was Francis, though a lot more vigorously than Angie, much to her annoyance. Britt didn't really care for Francis though, because there was only one man who was annoying and persistent enough to push his way into her heart.

Britt stepped off the stage and almost immediately she was greeted by the sight of Antonio and Kiku: the managers of Café Cosplay. Originally, Antonio was the owner but he had joined forces with Kiku to improve their business.

"That was very impressive Brittany-san." Kiku complimented.

"Yeah it was really cool! You should do it again tomorrow!" Antonio beamed.

"Okay but please don't make me do Discotheque again. You know how much short skirts annoy me." Britt pleaded.

"And how much France likes them..." Antonio and Kiku mumbled.

"Exactly. So no short skirts please." Britt sighed.

"No promises Britt. We do get a rot more customers when it's you wearing the skirt." Kiku pointed out.

"...I'm choosing to ignore that last comment." Britt muttered.

"But Britt-" Antonio began.

"Oh look, a customer! Welcome home master!" Britt called as she went off to serve a table.

Antonio and Kiku smiled as they watched the young blonde-haired girl occupy herself suddenly with serving Peter, her little brother. Though it didn't last long, for it became obvious a few seconds later that they were having an argument over Peter being a country.

"Such a tsundere..." Kiku smiled.

"And cute too." Antonio grinned.

* * *

"Good day's vork today Britt!"

Britt turned around, still wiping away the sweat from her forehead after performing yet another dance. It was Eliza, her best friend that was practically like a sister to her. After all, Eliza had taken her in when she had no place to call home and had been there to push her when Britt couldn't decide on things. Britt didn't see as much of her nowadays, but when she did she was always overjoyed.

"Oh hey Eliza!" Britt beamed.

"How are zings vith Alfred?" Eliza asked.

"Honestly, is that your first question every time we see each other?" Britt sighed.

"Yup! So how are zey?" Eliza grinned.

"Things are... Okay..." Britt muttered.

"Have you...?"

The silence was shocking, but most definitely needed. Once Britt got what she was talking about, her face turned from normal to pink and her eyes became as wide as saucers.

"Th-that's none of your business!" She snapped.

"Aww c'mon. I bet you have!"

"No we haven't!"

"Sure, vatever you say..."

_Eliza, I know your Yaoi fangirl intuition is usually spot on but this time it isn't. Perhaps you're losing your touch? No... That can't be it. Maybe things are going too slow with Alfred..._

_I really hope it isn't the case._

* * *

"I'm home." Britt sighed.

"Hiya Britt!"

Then all of her magical friends appeared to greet her. Her face instantly lit up at the sight of them together: a lovely sight for such a long and tiring day.

"My ma-"

But then Tinkerbell pressed a finger to her lips and Britt stopped upon seeing the gesture.

"There's someone here." Tinkerbell whispered.

Britt opened her mouth to say something back to them but then a voice called out from the living room that both answered her question for her and embarrassed her slightly.

"Bri-itt~!" The voice sang.

Britt froze up, but her imaginary friends pushed her forward. Eventually she was able to walk on her own so with shaky legs, she entered the living room. Standing before her was a dirty blond, blue eyed American with a huge smile spread across his face.

"Welcome home..." He whispered seductively.

Britt knew what that tone meant. Before she had any time to prepare herself, the man planted a soft kiss on her dry lips. Slowly he formed a tight grip around her and she reached her hands around his waist. The kiss carried on until Alfred pulled away, leaving them both gasping for breath slightly.

"Britt!" Alfred gasped.

"What?" She asked.

"You didn't do the leg flick!" Alfred whined.

"... I'm going to be kind enough to ask. What... The hell?"

"Y'know in films where there's a kiss scene the girl always flicks her leg up!"

"I refuse to do something so cliché and girly!"

"But you are a girl!"

"I was originally a guy and I can change back anytime I want!"

Then Britt stormed off down the hallway, headed for the basement where her magical things were. Down there she could easily use her spell book and draw a pentagram to change her back. But Alfred didn't want her to do that so he ran up and tackled her to the floor playfully.

"BLOODY HELL THE PAIN! I raised you better than this!" Britt screamed.

"Yep. Nothing turns you on more than your girlfriend acting like your mother." Alfred sighed sarcastically.

"Why you..."

Britt rolled over only to see that Alfred was clinging tightly onto her legs and, now that she had rolled over, had a clear view of her pants. She instantly tried to cover herself, only to have Alfred raising himself slightly and pulling himself along the floor to be closer to her.

"So... Now?" He asked, smirking.

"N-never!" She stuttered.

"Oh I dunno about that..." Alfred smirked as he stood up again. "You can't avoid it forever Britt. And neither can you resist my charms forever."

Britt raised herself so that she was kneeling down with her hands placed in her lap. Despite this cute, fragile position, she continued to verbally snap at him like some British snake.

"Don't flatter yourself git!" She spat.

Alfred stopped his ascent of the stairs as he heard this and instantly went back to Britt. He crouched down and gently grabbed her by the chin.

"Don't push it Britt. I can't hold back my un-heroic urges forever." He smirked.

Then he kissed her softly again, but only a quick gentle kiss this time before he turned to ascend the stairs again. Britt sat there with that pure angelic look on face, not quite sure how to react to her boyfriend's closing statement.

* * *

_**The next morning...**_

Britt woke up and rolled over, seeing the innocent sleeping face of Alfred F Jones- the United States of America. His eyelids were shut and his face looked so pure and sweet that Britt had to suppress the urge to coo over him and break out her camera in a similar way to what Eliza or Kiku might've done. But she was a calm, controlled girl and so she simply put a hand to his sleeping face and stroked back a piece of his hair. Then his lips parted ever so slightly and from his mouth he uttered one word, ever so softly to her:

"Pedo..."

"W-what?" She snapped.

"You... Paedophile." He muttered.

"How so?" She asked, clearly annoyed.

"You're like centuries older than me dude, plus you raised me." Alfred explained lazily.

"Would you prefer I dumped you, fatass?"

"Noo... That's fine..."

"You say that as if you actually have control over it. Anyway I have to go to work now."

"Okay, later babe."

"I'm not your 'babe', idiot."

"Iggy..."

"Not that either!"

"Artie, Britt, Britain, England. Ya have too many names anyway. You need to learn to cut down dude."

"This coming from the overweight fatass..."

* * *

It turned out that the casual American was too tired (lazy) to get up and walk his girlfriend to work. He'd probably just get up sometime after noon, make himself (or more likely just heat up) something for breakfast and then head for home as usual.

Britt figured that this would probably be okay but then as she walked to work, she soon found that Roderich and Eliza were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they walked at earlier time now? Maybe even a later one? At any rate, she had hoped that she would encounter someone on the way, however no such luck so she remained alone until she reached the café.

She opened the door, quickly sidestepping a bucket that she had half expected to fall. However it didn't, obviously meaning that either Antonio or Kiku had finally sorted it out. There weren't any rose petals either, so that was a bonus.

But despite the absence of buckets and rose petals, she was still in for a surprise. Just a few moments after she stepped in, she was suddenly grabbed by Eliza and pushed into a closet- the very same closet that Eliza had forced her into when she had first joined the café.

"WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME? Seriously Kiku if this is an anime reference I am going to kill you as much as one can kill the personification of a country!" Britt yelled.

The door opened very slightly, just enough for Britt to be able to see his neutral brown eyes and half of his dead straight mouth, neutral as usual- showing no sign of any emotion.

"If by grabbing someone by their crothing and dragging them somewhere so that you can force them into somewhere that you want them to go in a very Tsuntsun sort of way then yes I suppose that is an anime reference but prease, don't hurt me."

Then Kiku shut the door before Britt could retaliate in any way. Britt then realised that something had been forced into her hands as she came in: it was a black cape, similar to her own. Obviously since she didn't bring it to work today, so they had provided her with one but still... Why did she need one in the first place?

* * *

_**Later...**_

"Shh! Be quiet Britt!" Eliza hissed.

"No! Not until you tell me what the bloody hell is going on! And why is it always me involved?" Britt snapped.

"Vell Angie's here too und if ve had brought Kat zen... Vell you know vat her... Two large regions are like. Besides, ve're ze people zat Kiku und Antonio trust so you should be honoured!" Eliza explained.

"Don't try to flatter me with that! Just what are you-?"

"Aren't you meant to be a good spy? Vat about vorld var two? Spying on ze Axis? Now keep it down!" Eliza snapped.

Britt stayed silent and sat with her arms folded but then Angie kindly handed a newspaper, presumably to explain their current situation. She kindly thanked her fellow co-worker and was going to query her on which page to look up but she didn't need to, for the front page article was obviously the one concerning them...

* * *

**CAFÉ KOL**

* * *

_**A new café has recently opened for the countries of the world to eat at. The new café: Café Kol is already a big hit with most of the countries, especially China- one of the world's gourmet countries. They have yet to receive reviews from other food-orientated countries, but the café is quickly becoming popular throughout the world, overtaking the now outdated Café Cosplay.**_

* * *

"Outda-" Britt exclaimed.

"Shh!" Angie and Eliza hissed, covering Britt's mouth. "They'll hear us!"

"I'm outraged!" Britt growled. "Let me at those tarts in there! I can take them! Let me go!"

"No one was saying you couldn't take them Britt..." Angie laughed nervously. "But you can't just walk in there. We're from Café Cosplay, the opposing team."

"Still..." Britt frowned.

"Look ve have ze data I need. It's just an ordinary café, no strange outfits involved." Eliza explained.

"What I'd give to work there..." Britt muttered.

Eliza and Angie looked at her with both shock and horror upon their faces, something which Britt quickly tried to fix.

"British sarcasm chaps! You know I love our café really!" Britt smiled reassuringly.

Both Eliza and Angie smiled. Yes... Britt loved the café. She may have been through quite a lot and complained about it on a daily basis but really she loved it and there was no way she'd let it lose to this 'Café Kol' without a fight.

* * *

**...And there you have it! The girls (or rather the girls + one genderbended wizard pirate gentleman/lady thing) are back in town! I hope you enjoyed that first chapter! Was there anything wrong? Was it as good as the original?**

**The next chapter will be out in about... A week? In the meantime- I need help.**

**What do you guys want me to call Vietnam? Yes she will be appearing in this. What name shall we use for her. She doesn't have an official one so I was hoping you guys had some ideas.**

**Review and help! Chapters will not be able to continue if we don't get a name!**

**Sayonara minna-san!**

**~Neko**


	2. Ve! Spying time!

**Konnichiwa! Another chapter so soon? I was not expecting this. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I did writing it! Now onto the reviews in the usual fashion following on from Café Cosplay...**

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_**Reviews~!**_

**Ashe-Kuro- I had a feeling you'd be the first reviewer. It seems a lot of people like the conversations I write and I must admit, I'm quite proud of them myself! Thanks for your input, it will not go unnoticed I assure you. When the story starts to get back into customers and cosplay again, I will try my very hardest.**  
**osa-chan- I figured you'd be back... And react like this. It's lovely to see you again, and your fangirl sign off.**  
**MDWOLFGIRL- It is rare to see sequels better than the original. Actually though I preferred Men in Black 2 to 1. 3 was epic. I've seen it. Sorry back on topic. The romance of the original can't quite be beaten and yes I'm sure you will enjoy the drama with this café.**  
**awesome scones- I'm back baby. Oooh I like that name! Awesome suggestion from awesome scones!*Sniff* Prussia would be so proud. Are you like his secret lovechild? (I like making love children- not me personally but pairing people together).**  
**_awesomely anonymous_- It WILL be interesting. Unfortunately I cannot divulge some of the surprises in store but I'm sure you will love them. I'll keep your excitement in mind and try to keep this story going.**  
**Neelh- That's fine ^^ Other people have made inputs so don't worry about it. Ohonhon? In what ways? I'm trying to see which character can be which now...**

* * *

**Lovely reviews as usual guys! I'm so happy to see those people back and be proud of yourselves for being the first to review chapter one! You guys are Prussialicious. And that, my friends, is saying something. That was a wonderful start to a fanfiction! I mean can you believe the first chapter of Café Cosplay only had two reviews?**

**I think I'm going to try and include random details about me or my fanfictions like that every chapter of this from now on, but until then...**

**Tanoshimu!**

* * *

"...Also zey have no strange outfits or weird cosplay services so zat puts zem at a disadvantage." Eliza explained.

"That's good." Antonio beamed.

"I fail to see what's so strange and weird about cospray..." Kiku muttered.

"Kiku, be quiet." Britt huffed.

"We didn't manage to find out anything about the girls working there, but we can go back and do so if you want."

"Yes do that tomorrow." Antonio smiled. "Great job today girls! You've made Café Cosplay proud!"

Eliza clapped her hands, Angie blushed and- although she didn't help, Kat beamed- looking ready to burst with tears of joy any second. Britt couldn't smile a little too. But, as she looked around the café, she noticed the only one that wasn't smiling was Lili. She was actually frowning a little, a hint of sadness on her face.

_Could it be that she wanted to help too? She is only a little girl. Plus she mainly depends on her big brother for things so I don't think Kiku or Antonio thought she could do it. Perhaps next time I'll recommend her to them, it saves me doing it anyway._

"It's almost crosing time." Kiku told them. "Angie-san, Eriza-san and Brittany-chan can go get changed if they want to."

Angie nodded and took the opportunity but as she dashed off into the changing rooms, Eliza didn't seem as keen. She folded her arms and frowned slightly at Kiku, who began to back away slightly.

"Vait a second Kiku. Vhy did you use –chan for Britt?" Eliza asked.

"I erm uh..." Kiku stuttered, a blush forming on his face. "Well she's a varued member of Café Cospray and..."

"Und I'm not?" Eliza asked. "Vhy is Britt so special to you hmm?"

"I uh... You know you can go home now right?"

"Oh I don't intend to. Zis vill be fun."

And then Eliza gave him a happy, sneaky- yet at the same time evil grin and Kiku shrunk back into his chair. Eliza approached him, looking ready to interrogate and Roderich expressed the intensely awkward atmosphere and his extreme embarrassment through the piano.

"Antonio, I think I'm gonna stay a little longer." Britt explained.

"Well that's up to you Britt!" He grinned.

Britt bowed to him politely before continuing on with serving the last customers of the day along with Lili. Hopefully it made the girl feel better with someone to help her out, because that was what Britt had intended.

* * *

At the end of the day when Lili and Britt were getting changed (Kat too but generally Britt had to ignore her getting changed because of her huge tracks of land) Britt turned to Lili as she sat on the bench, pulling up the tights of her casual wear.

"Hey Lili you did a great job today as usual." Britt complimented.

"Thank you Miss Kirkland." Lili smiled.

"Hey you don't need to use the 'miss'. We're all equals here."

"Right. Does Brittany sound okay to you?"

"Sounds perfect. I like your ribbon by the way."

"Oh thanks. It vas a present from my big broder."

"Ah yes. How is Switzerland these days?"

"He's fine. But..."

Then there was a silence, as if Lili didn't want to continue. Like something was holding her back. Britt frowned and then raised one of her neat (now plucked since turning into a girl) eyebrows.

"But?" Britt asked.

Lili quickly pulled her purple ribbon into a bow and shut her locker door.

"It's nothing." Lili finished.

Then she left without another word, leaving Britt in confusion and curiosity.

* * *

_**Later...**_

"Dude I'm getting scared! That emo-guy keeps sucking the flesh off people! Help me Britt! Save me! Hold me!" Alfred panicked.

"It's not 'that emo-guy' Alfred, its Imhotep. Besides, it's nearing the end now and you said you liked this film a minute ago." Britt sighed.

"I do like the film. It's got ancient stuff and exploring and plus it's about an English girl who knows magic and an American hero!" Alfred beamed.

"Sort of like you and me don't you think?" Britt chuckled.

"Yeah exactly! Wait shh I wanna hear what they're saying..."

"_I thought I lost you..."_

"_For a moment there you did. Do you want to know what heaven looks like?"_

"_Later..."_

Then the two engaged in a sweet romantic kiss. Britt froze up slightly and, as she turned to her peppy American boyfriend who began to grin suggestively. Britt knew that look. So she sighed before giving a smile to him and scooting closer to him.

"Fine. But only one kiss." Britt sighed.

"N'aww okay." Alfred grinned.

Then, just like in the film they were watching, the two engaged in a passionate kiss- much to Alfred's delight.

* * *

_**The next day...**_

"Everyone got it?" Angie asked.

"Got it!" The girls whispered happily.

Today Britt, Angie, Eliza and (on Britt's request) Lili were going to investigate the staff working at the so called 'Café Kol'. Hopefully it would give them a better idea of the café's service and give them a better background on the café.

"Let's start off vith zis vindow." Eliza instructed.

The four did as instructed and peered through the high window. There they could see the dining area of Café Kol which, in Britt's opinion, didn't really compare to Café Cosplay. There were red booths placed around the edges and pretty tables with stainless white cloths. Okay it looked nice, but Café Cosplay was definitely better.

Walking amongst the tables and delivering orders at a rather quick speed were two girls. One was an emotionless dark brown haired girl, wearing a vibrant green short dress with long sleeves and a white apron on the front. Her hair was back in a ponytail and her eyes looked yellowish like a cat. Then there was the other girl. She had lighter brown loose hair with brown eyes and a strand of hair which stood out from the rest. Her dress was short sleeved, pink, and frilly around the shoulders and hem but she still wore the same recurring white apron.

"Those two. Aren't they Taiwan and Vietnam?" Angie asked.

"Yes I recall seeing them at China and Japan's house before." Britt whispered.

"I suppose that isn't too much to worry about right?" Lili questioned.

"I'm not too sure..." Eliza muttered. "After all, it can't just be them can it?"

"We'll have to get someone to go in there. Someone who's a good spy, who can record information well and remain virtually undetected." Britt explained.

Britt explained this while staring through the window. It wasn't until Britt turned around due to lack of comments being made by the others that she realised everyone was staring at her- egging her on with their eyes. It was obvious what they were thinking, and Britt hated what they were thinking.

"Me!" To this, they nodded. "You've got to be bloody kidding me! They'll know who I am! Thanks to Prussia, spreading the news that I'm England, everyone knows my identity and occupation! I can't walk in there! You'd have to be crazy to do that!"

"Well you do see flying mint bunnies..." Angie muttered.

"It's not plural. There's only one flying mint bunny."

"Zere, you've just proved our point: you're crazy so you have to do it." Eliza smiled.

"Just because you can't see her doesn't mean she's not real." Britt huffed.

"Vell ve have no way to prove zat it's real. Und anozer zing-"

"Erm Brittany? Miss Elizaveta? I think you need to see zis." Lili interrupted.

Following Lili's smart advice, they rose up a little and stared through the window once more. They could see a young country being led to the centre table by Vietnam, who did all of her service without a smile. Their pupils widened in realisation as they cast their eyes upon the brown-haired, fashionably dressed man, swaying back and forth both happily and blissfully. Britt was the first to speak, or rather- to yell.

"What the heck is Feliciano doing in there!" She screeched.

Lili and Eliza clapped their hands over her mouth and dragged her down to avoid detection. Angie quickly ducked and covered her mouth also and Britt made muffled cries of protest as her co-workers tried to silence her.

"So you guys like my spy I sent in?" A voice asked.

The four girls looked up to see Antonio standing there with a happy beam plastered across his face. Thankfully, he was out of the window's range of vision. Britt pushed her friends aside and stood up to Antonio while still using caution not to be seen.

"Antonio! You're the one that sent him in there?" Britt snapped.

"Yup. So is it working?" He smiled.

"Spain. Not only are you the dumbest, stupidest boss I've ever known- you're also painfully unaware to the fact that you've just sent the worst- most obvious spy in the world." Britt explained.

"Britt... Aren't you overdramatizing it a little?" Angie whispered.

"Maybe. But my point remains that you- Antonio, are an idiot." Britt said bluntly.

"Shh. Be quiet Britt. I'm trying to listen." Eliza hissed.

Britt looked over at Eliza who was now listening to a set of headphones intently. Her gaze was fixated on the floor as she concentrated hard on what she was hearing.

"How the hell are you managing to hear what's going on in there?" Britt asked.

"Never underestimate ze power of Yaoi fans." She muttered.

"But there's no yaoi in- never mind. Hand me a set." Britt sighed.

She took a seat by Eliza and picked up the set of headphones that Eliza was offering her. She held the headphones tightly over her ears and strained them to listen. Britt could easily recognise the fast-paced Italian voice coming from the other end and though she struggled, she could also recognise the other waitress's voice as Belgium- brother of Netherlands.

"Ve~! Miss Belgium, can I have some wine?" Italy asked politely.

"Of course you can Italy! Let me just prepare you a bottle~!" She sang.

Judging from the silence, Britt assumed Belgium had left. She took this opportunity to look up through the window again- only to gain the attention of Feliciano Vargas who began to wave at her happily.

"Ve~!" He called through the headset.

Britt looked back over her shoulder to see Antonio waving back with an ecstatic- almost dumb in her opinion- wide mouthed grin spread across his face. Obviously the two saw nothing wrong with greeting each other in an overjoyed manner, but thankfully Britt did and so she pushed Antonio onto the floor and turned back to Feliciano to glare and make a quick throat-cutting motion before quickly ducking down just as Belgium returned.

"Italy? What were you looking at?" Belgium asked curiously.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all Belgium!" Italy said in a slightly panicky tone.

"It can't have been nothing. Now tell me what you saw." Another voice growled.

Britt turned to Eliza, suddenly realising who had joined the conversation.

"Eliza! That was-" Britt began.

"SHHH!" Eliza hissed.

"N-nothing! It was nothing at all! Really!" Feliciano laughed nervously.

"Hmph. I've got my eye on you." The other voice warned.

_That voice... That spooky menacing voice... Could it be...?_

"Hey chicas! That waitress is coming out to see us!" Antonio beamed.

Britt looked to Eliza in alarm and almost immediately they packed up the equipment and ran off along with Angie, Lili and Antonio. They ran over the road and back to Café Cosplay- their safe haven, their comforting home.

* * *

"How did it go?" Kiku asked.

"Vell ve managed to figure out who's vorking zere." Eliza explained.

"Yes. So far we've ascertained that Taiwan, Vietnam and Belgium are waitresses in Café Kol. But we also heard..." Britt explained.

"Hai? Go on." Kiku urged.

"Belarus is working in the café." Angie finished, biting her lip. "Kiku-sama, does this mean that-"

"Hai. As we feared. Russia is the definite owner of Café Kol." Kiku sighed.

The whole room was gripped in silence as they dreaded to think of what they were up against. Russia- the creepy country that had a fond desire for everyone to become one with him. Belarus- his devoted little sister who was eager to carry out Russia's orders and of course, to marry him. Taiwan and Vietnam, the girl with the positive attitude and the girl with a stone-cold face. And Belgium- the spirited cheery young girl usually surrounded by cruel and mean people.

* * *

"Hey Eliza?" Britt asked.

"Yeah Britt?" She replied.

"Are you worried about Café Kol?"

"Nope! Not at all! Ve have great staff here und I don't zink ve'll lose to zem."

"That's good to hear."

"Oh hey Britt you're still coming zis veekend aren't you?"

"This weekend?"

"Don't tell me you forgot!"

"Of course not. Would I forget? Of course I know what's happening this weekend. After all, you've been planning for weeks."

Eliza beamed happily before she threw her rucksack over her right shoulder and turned to leave. She looked back over her shoulder just as she passed through the front door and she called back to Britt saying:

"I know you'll be coming vith America, but please try to not be late." Eliza called.

"Well I know you're a huge yaoi fangirl, so please try to get rid of your cameras." Britt smirked.

Eliza and Britt giggled and Eliza left. Britt too began getting ready to go home but as she did, she thought of what events might occur this weekend, what drama might take place. But she looked forward to it, after all this was her first time with all of her friends...

At a sleepover.

* * *

**In case any of you were wondering, yes the film they were watching was The Mummy, as suggested by hollie the hedgehog. I do not own it. I do not have the ability to own people for I am not a boss. Hell I don't even own my cat, she's free range now.**

**One cannot simply leave this chapter without reviewing first, so please do so.**

**Sayonara minna-san!**

**~Neko**


	3. Closet surprise

**Konnichiwa! Before I start responding and yapping on like the annoying little fangirl I am, I'd just like to thank everyone who participated in the Black Out! This chapter is dedicated to you guys! (Also I'd like to give awesomely anonymous, who had to participate during her birthday. Happy birthday my dear anon!)**

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_**Reviews~!**_

**osa-chan- It's fine! I always used to back in the days of Café Cosplay right? Thanks for continuing to support me! You're such a great fangirl! ^^**  
**awesome scones- You never know, anything can become a reality with fangirlism! ...Even if it's a reality only existent in your mind... The awesome you? Has Prussia invaded your vital regions/mind?**  
**MDWOLFGIRL- Super special awesome plot twist! *Gets shot for reference* The sleepover can end well! ...Okay no it can't. You'll see in this chapter.**  
**Ashe-Kuro- That... Sounds totally boss! Whoa that's pretty interesting. I didn't really know any of that. I just knew how Russia liked saying 'kolkolkol' and decided to use it for the Café!**  
**Oceanfur- Oh well it's great to see you at last! I was going to suggest people adding me to their author alerts so they'd know when this would be out but I didn't want to force anyone or look desperate to get author alerts ^^' Anyway, yes the Belgium thing is a little weird but I'll come up with an excuse! (Maybe...)**

* * *

**Random fact: All of the chapters of Café Cosplay were stored in a file under the name "Cafe Cosplay" (naturally). Each chapter was named, but only a handful of them had the same name as they did on the site! The rest had rejected and less creative names. However, with Café Kol each chapter has been named "CAFE KOL" and then the chapter number it is. Weird huh?**

**Tanoshimu!**

* * *

"Do I look alright?" Britt asked.

"Honestly, you say you're still a guy but sometimes you make me wonder..." Alfred sighed.

"Well excuse me! I'm trying to look my best here! I'm nervous alright? It's my first time at one of these things and... And I'm freaking out, okay?" Britt snapped.

"Whoa dude chill!" Alfred laughed nervously, making his girlfriend take a deep breath and unleashing it with a long sigh. Seeing she was calm, Alfred continued: "So... You've never had a sleepover? Ever?"

"Never." Britt shook her head.

"Really? You never did that sort of thing when you were a kid?" Alfred frowned.

"Number one Alfred, I'm a country. We don't generally do that sort of stuff when we're a kid, not us richer ones anyway. We spend our time fighting, even you should know that. Number two, when I was a kid, I was still male- so sleepovers, no matter how masculine, were out of the question. Number three, the most girlish country around was France- do you really see me going to France for a sleepover?"

"Well with the way he brags about you and him..."

"Why you-"

"Britt! Alfred! Velcome!"

They turned around to see a certain hardcore Yaoi fangirl standing in the doorway to greet them. Eliza was already dressed for sleeping, wearing a delicate light pink night dress that ended just halfway up her thighs. The border was mainly done with a lacy trim and two thin white straps held it all together. Her hair was completely down- silky and well brushed but also lacking her usual flower that she preferred to wear in her hair.

"I'm so glad you made it!" She smiled. "Lili, Angelique and Roderich are already inside."

"Yes it's nice to see you too Eliza and it's certainly nice to see my old home once more." Britt smiled nostalgically.

"Yeah dude this place is totally kickass!" Alfred beamed, barging in and squeezing past both Eliza and Britt rudely.

"He's certainly lively isn't he?" Eliza asked.

"Ah he's always that way, you learn to deal with it." Britt grinned.

"Hey! That sofa's where we first made out!" Alfred's voice called from the living room.

"ALFRED F. JONES I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Britt screeched, blushing fiercely.

Then she charged into the living room to do just that, or at least just destroy him a little. Eliza giggled more at the adorable scene- sure Britt was screaming death threats at Alfred's face, but it was only playful banter obviously and with Eliza's love expertise, she could tell that the tension was building.

* * *

"Now it's time for sleepover games!" Eliza declared.

"Oh God kill me now..." Britt muttered.

"The first game vill be seven minutes in heaven!" The woman announced.

"I don't like where this is going..." Britt frowned.

"And the first two I pick vill be..." Eliza began.

"Please don't..." Britt mumbled.

"Alfred and Britt!"

"I should've seen it coming... I should've seen it coming..."

"Stop complaining and get in ze closet Britt!"

"Eliza, if there are any cameras in there I am going to kill you and burn all your Yaoi manga. DVDs too. And pictures."

"Don't vorry Britt, zere are no visible cameras in ze-"

"Eliza!"

"No cameras in zere! Zough I'm not making any promises..."

Deciding against completely blowing up in Eliza's face, Britt stormed into the closet with her fists clenched and with Alfred just behind her with his hands tucked casually away into his pockets. The door was carefully shut and Eliza started the stopwatch that would time the seven minutes.

"So..." Alfred sighed.

He opened his mouth to say more, but was suddenly stopped by the soft pressure of Britt's lips on his and a slight warmth on his cheeks due to the way she was on her tiptoes and pressed up against his chest in order to properly kiss him. She pulled away after a little while, and Alfred could vaguely see the excited glint in her eyes.

"Just don't go too far with it twat. We'll play by my rules for the next seven minutes." Britt warned.

"As always." Alfred grinned.

She pushed him onto the floor forcefully. It was a surprisingly spacious closet, practically inhabitable with the amount of space it had. Alfred was now defenceless, pinned to the floor by Britt's steady loving hands and her tempting luscious lips. She sneakily slipped her tongue into his warm mouth making him close his eyes and moan a little with pleasure. She giggled in her short lived breathing space- pleased to see that she was able to make him moan like that.

He moved his hands up to her cheeks and stroked them through her silky blonde hair. Not wanting to be outdone, she trailed her one hand down to his chest and lovingly stroked his neck.

But then something happened. While Alfred was playfully running his two hands through her golden hair, Britt felt a third hand being stroked along her bare bottom since her skirt was rather short, making it easy for anyone to snake their hand up there. Instantly she jumped back with fear and let out a terrified shriek which made Alfred sit up- ready to defend her.

"What's going on Britt?" Alfred asked.

"Ohonhonhonhon..." Came the perverted French chuckle.

"FRANCE IS IN THE CLOSET!" Britt screamed.

* * *

"I'm so sorry Britt, I did not know he vas in zere." Eliza apologised.

"Yes well I don't think anyone expected that one coming." Britt sighed. "Where is France now anyway?"

"Vell Roderich took him upstairs to punish him." Eliza explained.

"...What are you doing down here then? Shouldn't you be getting that footage?" Britt frowned.

Then Eliza pulled out her camera and grinned in an excited, fangirlish way.

"Just vanted to make sure you vere okay first!" She smiled.

Then she ran off upstairs, gripping onto the camera tightly as if her life depended on it. Britt sighed and shook her head with an amused chuckle and Alfred grinned with excitement. Angelique looked up in the direction of the stairs with a frown and bit her lip with worry.

"I hope he's okay up there. I've heard Mr Austria can be quite mean when it comes to punishment..." Angie sighed.

"Why so concerned Angie? I'm sure Francis can take it like a man slash frog. He probably enjoys it being the masochist he is." Britt explained.

"Vat's a masochist?" Lili asked innocently.

"...Truth or dare anyone?" Alfred suggested.

"G-good idea!" Britt stuttered awkwardly.

So they started playing truth or dare, just to avoid Lili's awkward masochist question. Time passed and eventually it was Angie's turn. Surprisingly, she chose dare and it was up to Britt to make one suitable enough for her.

"I dare you to... Go upstairs and offer to 'help' Austria with punishing France." Britt grinned.

Angelique's eyes widened and she began to blush and laugh nervously. With shaking legs, she got up and slowly dragged herself up the stairs. Of course she didn't want to do it, but a dare was a dare. Britt however was in fits of maniacal laughter and practically having to hold her sides to keep it together (then again she had already lost it).

* * *

"Okay Lili, truth or dare?" Alfred asked.

"Truth." She smiled.

"Who do you care about the most then?" Alfred grinned.

"Er... Vell..."

Now Britt was curious. Who _did_ Lili care about? Sure in the past she had declared how much she adored her brother Switzerland, but during her time at Café Cosplay, Britt had noticed her share several experiences with Peter- Britt's little brother better known as Sealand.

"Vell I-"

_Oioi Vati sakuroodu wa doko da, oioi Maman oioi Maman..._

It was a ringtone- more specifically Switzerland's Marukaite Chikyuu, emanating from Lili's pocket. Quickly she pulled out her cell phone and left the room to answer it. Lili's truth became forgotten and so they carried on with the game while she was gone. Even when Lili returned, they had completely forgotten about her and the truth she was about to tell them.

* * *

_**Later...**_

"So Roderich... Can I play vith your Mariazell?" Eliza asked.

"V-vat! You vant... To play vith it!" Roderich explained.

Eliza nodded. "Do you not vant me playing vith your hair?"

"V-vell if you really vant to..."

It was now getting later in the night and Eliza had suggested that they should start playing with each other's hair. Britt was beginning to wonder if Eliza had gotten all of this sleepover stuff out of a book or something- because that certainly seemed to be the case. Peter had arrived now to Britt's annoyance and now Lili was removing his hat and beginning to shyly pat his tidy brown-blond hair. Eliza was playfully tugging on Mariazell and Angie was shyly stroking her fingers through the ends of France's hair.

Britt however, wasn't as keen. It seemed a little too girly and she certainly drew the line at it. So, thinking no-one was watching, she slipped out of the room and snuck up to her old bedroom- thinking no-one had noticed her.

But Alfred had.

She smiled nostalgically at the comforting sight of her old room. The paint was still vaguely faded in places, the beds were still neatly made and the wood of the dresser and wardrobe were still chipped. The moon shone through, just as it had done on her first night and she collapsed onto her bed with her arms spread wide and a happy sigh escaping her lips.

"Dude, your position looks totally inviting."

With a voice so obnoxious and annoying, the head that had just popped its way around the corner was quite obviously Alfred's and that made her lift her head up. The beam on his face made her question what 'position' would make him smile like that and it was then she realised she was wearing a skirt.

Instantly she sat up and crossed her legs defensively. His face dropped a little but he didn't let himself get too disheartened. Instead he stepped up to allow himself to be fully visible in the doorway- to which she just scowled at.

"Well I wasn't inviting you to do anything, but if you want I can invite you to get your ass kicked." Britt growled.

"You never change do you? Even as a girl you sure don't act like it." Alfred laughed.

"Oh? Would you prefer me to be all girly girl- plaits in my hair and girly pink dresses?" Britt frowned.

"Well I don't really mind what you wear but if you want you could start playing with my hair like a girl." Alfred suggested.

"I-if it'll shut you up..."

Then Alfred beamed and sat down on Britt's old bed. Britt got herself into a comfortable position and stared at the back of Alfred's head- not fully sure of what she was meant to be doing. Reluctantly, she began to stroke her fingers through Alfred's hair- starting slow and at the bottom at first. Then she began to gradually explore the soft silkiness of Alfred's smooth hair.

Then she reached Nantucket- his cowlick. She was hesitant at first and even flinched back a couple of times when trying to touch it. Eventually she did though- receiving an unexpected reaction from Alfred as she did so...

First he flinched a little, making Britt pull back too. Then he slowly turned around- stared into her emerald eyes for a few seconds and then he made a move.

"Mmf!" Came Britt's muffled exclamation.

He leapt up and kissed her. No warning whatsoever. Her eyes were wide open, but his were closed and deep with passion. Then without any further warning, his tongue was roughly slipped in and she gasped with amazement. A thought dawned upon her and so she desperately struggled to pull away in order to voice it. As much as she wanted to continue, she eventually broke the kiss and spoke up.

"I-I didn't know that Nantucket was an erogenous zone..." She panted.

Then a sly look crept across Alfred's face and he raised a single sneaky eyebrow.

"Who said it was an erogenous zone?" He smirked.

She gasped and made a noise in the tone of disgust but he simply leaned in once more to kiss her again- this time with increasing heat and growing passion. If they went any further then... Maybe...

Suddenly Britt's eyes opened and she turned to the doorway. Alfred stopped kissing her and looked as well. There they saw Kiku and Eliza- Kiku looking very slightly red with embarrassment and Eliza with a camera in her two hands and lowered (most likely from taking pictures of France and Austria).

"Kiku, maybe ve should leave and come back later." Eliza frowned.

"What, you mean when you have enough film?" Britt chuckled as she sat up and slowly pushed Alfred away.

"This isn't the time to be making jokes Brittany-chan." Kiku bit his lip.

"...Anime references?" Alfred asked.

"No. No anime references." Kiku shook his head.

"Bloody hell." Britt gasped. "What's up then chaps?"

"It's Café Kol. They've upped their game. As of Monday, they are an official Cospray Café."

* * *

**...To be continued! (Maybe...)**

**Just kidding, I'd never do that to you guys. Anyway I'm about to upload the first half of two twoshots! One has multiple pairings and the other has no pairings but they were both rewards for those committing to the Black Out! You guys did great!**

**So please review! I'd really enjoy it if you did and also I'd just like to say that on my day off in the Black Out, I made a tumblr account!**

**angeltheneko. tumblr. com**

**I'd like if I got some followers! ^^**

**Sayonara minna-san!**

**~Neko**


	4. Increased methods of persuasion

**Konnichiwa! Today's chapter is what you've all been waiting for: the first proper cosplay! Ah it feels like so long since I last incorporated a cosplay... And along with that comes a healthy dose of anime references! I hope people will catch on to what anime this is... And who is who...**

* * *

**Reviews~!**

**_awesomely anonymous_- Well of course! That's what the little Café series is all about! ...Okay it really isn't but oh well. Oh dear I'm sorry to hear that. Hope this cheers you up! Happy late birthday present!**  
**Illusion Island- Thank you very much for participating! And thank you again for reviewing!**  
**Oceanfur- Aww no you're not an idiot! I'm the idiot really for not suggesting it! Yup. Back to business. And the Kol-ers? XD I like it! Now that was a wonderful moment of creative genius.**  
**awesome scones- Yet ;) It will happen someday. It's inevitable! Aww so much awesomeness... Am I really capable of all that? Ohonohonhon... Looks like you figured out my plan for zis chapter...**  
**osa-chan- Dude, they totally did. Sorry to break it to you. I hope this quells your excitement somewhat. Thank you for your continued support little miss fangirl!**  
**MDWOLFGIRL- Oh really? I was concerned it was a little too obvious. Maybe I might include another sleepover at the end? Just to end it happily so this sleepover is like a foreshadowing for that one.**  
**Ashe-Kuro- I was really looking forward to the sleepover scenes myself. That excitement was a little built up since I originally intended it for Café Cosplay so I'm glad I finally got to use it! Wait you look and act like Liz? ...So Liz reviews the story she's in? You're Elizaveta? Damn it! Quit breaking the fourth wall! I order you to get back in the story!**  
**Greece's Kitty- ...Can I like, borrow your closet for a few days? Give Spain his tomato! Or at least Romano. That should satisfy him. At least Greece is off the coffee.**

* * *

**Random fact: Café Cosplay was not the original title for Café Cosplay. Several names were debated. These are as follows:**

**No other Option, Last Resort, Café Nuhein, Café Suhon, Kawaii Café, Café Nihon**

**These titles were repeatedly discussed since I could not officially decide due to my constantly changing mind. However two kept cropping up, these were 'Last Resort' and (of course) 'Café Cosplay'. In the end my final deciding comment was made by my good friend escritoria (and I think a few of you know of her work). She said, and I quote: "If it's going to be serious at points, I'd go with Last Resort, but if it's mostly funny I'd pick Cafe Cosplay." And there you have it. If I get time and if you'd like to know more, I might actually show you the deciding conversation.**

**Tanoshimu!**

* * *

**Notes: **

**_Bringing your emotions_- A reference to William T. Spears from Black Butler.**

**_Poached salmon etc._- The first meal prepared by Sebastian in Black Butler.**

**_The importance of glasses_- Again, Black Butler. People reading this before the actual chapter should know the cosplay by now.**

**_Danke schön_- Thank you very much, in German.**

**_Tschüss_- Basically, 'see you' in German.**

* * *

"Wh-what? This must be a joke. You're joking right Kiku?" Britt frowned.

She stared into his emotionless brown eyes, longing for a sign of jest. Then again, Kiku wasn't the type to joke and laugh so she began to seriously doubt that it was a joke.

"You-you're serious about this?" Britt whispered.

Kiku very slowly and slightly nodded, confirming Britt's fear. Now that Café Kol was a cosplay café as well, they could actually compete with Café Cosplay since the outfits were the only big advantage in Café Cosplay. Now they were equal- but according to the reviews and compliments the opposing café, they seemed to have the upper hand in service and cooking. What did Café Cosplay have that they didn't? Well apart from anime references coming from Kiku and the occasional mad customer like France or Italy.

"Dude what're we gonna do Kiku buddy?" Alfred asked.

"I... I rearry have no idea. We will have to become stronger and better but I don't know if we can even compete. We may even have to use... Methods of persuasion..."

At this point, Kiku took a quick glance at Britt, implying that there was going to be much more dancing and revealing outfits in store for her. She was not looking forward to this, not one bit...

* * *

_**And so, on Monday...**_

"Welcome home master..." Britt smiled.

And honestly, she had not been expecting this: she was wearing a pink hat, decorated with a pure white sash and delicate pink roses underneath that was placed at an angle and covered her right eye. Around her neck was a pink ribbon and she had long black arm gloves. Britt's dress, for once, was long and pink, decorated with beautiful frills and a black and white striped ribbon behind the pink rose that covered her chest.

It reminded her of her Victorian era. Of course she didn't wear dresses back then for she was still a man but the style brought back pleasant memories for her, with a mix of only a few bad ones.

"Whoa Britt. Why you wearin' that? Japan let you wear that?" Alfred gaped.

"Yes he did." Britt smiled.

"But... The dress is too long!" Alfred whined.

"Shut up!" Britt snapped, whacking him around the back of the head with her now empty serving tray. "Just because they didn't put me in a short skirt for once, it doesn't mean this dress is too long!"

"Okay, okay! Geez, learn to chill a little will ya?" Alfred sighed. "I mean it's just a dress right? Why are ya so protective of it?"

"Well it's just... I like the style, that's all..." Britt muttered sheepishly.

"Huh? Why would you like somethin' stuffy like that?" Alfred laughed.

"Why you-" Britt began.

"The Victorian era." A voice mumbled.

Both Britt and Alfred turned around to see Kiku walking towards them, emotionless as usual in a 'sense-the-mood' and 'refrain-from-speaking' kind of way.

"The Victorian era was during the reign of Queen Victoria and rasted for sixty-three years and two hundred and sixteen days- the rongest reign in British history." Kiku explained.

"See, Kiku bothers to learn things- yet then there's you: lazy, stupid and only caring about yourself." Britt glared at Alfred.

"Today's cospray is an anime set in Victorian era Rondon. Britt prays the main character... Cross-dressing as a girl." Kiku continued.

"Wait so you're saying I'm cosplaying a boy?" Britt asked.

"Hai, is that a probrem?"

"N-no of course not..."

After all, why would it be? It wasn't like Britt was naturally a girl. If that were the case then she might have been offended. To be perfectly honest though, Britt missed being a boy- being Arthur, a lot more lately than she had in the past. Before when she was just Britt made her feel as if it really was only Britt, and that Arthur had never existed.

But now that her secret was out, she was painfully aware that he had in fact existed, and she constantly found herself missing the way things used to be.

"...And arso in this anime, it covers many historical events rike the compretion of the Eiffel Tower and the Jack the Ripper murders-" Kiku went on.

"Wait, hold on a second Kiku. Did you just say Jack the Ripper?"

Okay so Britt hadn't exactly been paying attention to what Kiku had been saying since her mind had wandered but she was certainly more focused with the mentioning of the last topic. After all, how could she forget? Her people had been in so much fear, so much abuse and despair had been building- it was a dark time for her, how could she forget it?

"Hai, I did." Kiku nodded.

"Jack the Ripper? Is that the serial killer that went around killing prostitutes in East London a while back?" Alfred asked.

"So you do know at least something about my history then." Britt sighed.

"Course I do man! I ain't that ignorant!" Alfred beamed.

"If you weren't ignorant then you would use proper grammar." Britt snapped. "So Kiku, explain. What do you mean when you say it covers Jack the Ripper?"

"Well the main characters investigate the murders and in the end, they find the murderer responsibre."

"Wait, you mean they actually find him? Who is it?"

"He is over there, or at reast, half of him." Kiku pointed.

His finger was directed towards Eliza who was wearing a formal white shirt, a brown waistcoat, a red coat half-worn and hanging loosely at her elbows and tied around her neck was a red and white striped necktie. She was wearing red glasses with beads attached and in her hand was a large chainsaw prop to add to the cosplay- despite how much it was scaring the customers.

"Hungary was a murderer? What did the victims do? Diss Yaoi?" Alfred asked, leaning back on his chair to get a better look.

"N-not exactry..." Kiku stuttered. "Anyway, I'm sorry to have kept you- gomenasai. Britt, there is another customer over there that I'd rike you to take care of."

"Okay, I think I've wasted enough of my time with this moron anyway." Britt grinned.

She headed off in the direction of the new customer Kiku had informed her of, while being verbally attacked by Alfred's loud whines and protests to being called a moron. Britt couldn't help but smirk: winding other people up always made her feel better.

"Welcome home master." She greeted as she got down on her one knee and bowed.

"Velcome home master?" The customer asked.

_Oh God, that voice..._

"Vell I suppose I am awesome enough to be your master! Kesesese!" He cackled.

If she hadn't known at first, that last comment would have confirmed it. After all, not many countries laughed like that, spoke with that particular accent and referred to themselves as 'awesome'.

"Prussia. Or maybe I should say Gilbert since you aren't a nation anymore." Britt said through gritted teeth.

"Hey, zat vas pretty unawesome of you England!" Gilbert frowned.

"Yes well the last time we met, you backed me into the wall and refused to let me go because you thought that by kidnapping me, you'd be able to accomplish something."

"Hey, zat vas only because Hungary vas getting me to do it..." Gilbert muttered.

"Sure. Great excuse. What do you want anyway?" Britt huffed.

"I guess I'll have one of your daily specials. Sounds awesome to me!"

Then all of a sudden, a new person popped up out of nowhere and bowed slightly with their hand rested across their chest.

"That would be a poached salmon with mint salad with the prepared accompaniments of toast, scones and French pastries. Which would best suit your taste?"

It was Roderich. His hair was slightly more tamed than usual and his Mariazell was even down. However, it was not suppressed fully and a slight bit of the end was still curling upwards. So back to the point, Roderich was bowing- yes bowing- to Gilbert (most likely due to some unknown order by Kiku) and he looked extremely posh (no change there) in his suit, tie, gloves and dress shoes, all of which were black.

"Kesesese! Ze stupid aristocrat is being- vell, stupid as usual und not as awesome as ze awesome me!" Gilbert laughed heartily. "Und in response to your question: I vill have ze French pastries."

"Very good." Roderich nodded, his eyebrow twitching slightly.

Britt could vaguely see Roderich's eyes darting to the spot where Kiku stood. She noticed Kiku staring back and also looking like he was trying to hold back a smile as he walked towards them. Britt just had to sigh upon the realisation that all of what Roderich had just said had been under Kiku's orders.

"Roderich. I can tell you weren't happy with being kind to that guy." Britt muttered, placing her hands firmly on her hips. "You don't need to take that. Kiku may be your boss but he doesn't control you."

Kiku stared at Roderich, making the posh aristocratic nation sigh.

"Bringing your emotions into your job is a waste of time." Roderich mumbled.

"That's another line isn't it?" Britt snapped, folding her arms and tilting her head unhappily. "And what the hell? Did Kiku make you change your glasses?"

It was true. Austria's usual glasses had been changed into rectangular ones decorated with four lines on each side of the frames. Roderich turned to Kiku again, only to have the smaller nation nod once at him- like a signal. Again, another sigh signalled the start of another rehearsed line.

"Those who don't know the importance of glasses to Shinigami..." Roderich began, pushing the glasses up. "...Should get a pay cut!"

Then he lifted his hand dramatically and brought it down dramatically... But in the wrong direction. Instead of pointing at Britt, like the girl was expecting, he pointed in another direction- which just happened to be where Kat was walking through with a serving tray. When she saw she was being pointed at however, she instantly flipped out- dropping the tray clumsily.

"Well done, Austria-san." Kiku muttered. "Ukraine-san, are you alright?"

"I'm so sorry! I'm not used to serving people and I freaked out! Please forgive me!" Kat sobbed.

The reason why Ukraine was serving was to improve service rates in Café Cosplay. Originally, she had been hired as a chef. However now with the increasing threat of Café Kol, she had been serving the customers as a waitress as well.

She, like all of the other waitresses, was wearing a beautiful cosplay. Hers had fake angelic wings and her dress was long and simply pure white. The bottom half of her dress looked like it was made from feathers and around her neck was a gray frilly choker. Thankfully, she had not spilled anything on this splendid outfit, but she had instead broken the café's fine china.

"Sey-san, crean up prease." Kiku instructed.

Angie ran in, wearing her hair up in high ponytails and adorned with a pretty lacy frill. She was wearing a typical maid's outfit with brown laced up high boots and black stockings accompanied by a garter belt. Her outfit had a white pinafore with ruffles around the shoulders and on her face were a pair of large circular glasses- ones that hid her eyes quite well.

"Hey England! Can I have my food now?" Gilbert called.

"Ugh. Kat could you get the special with French pastries for Mr fussy over here?" Britt huffed.

"How rude! I'm not fussy, I'm awesome!" Gilbert gasped.

"Says you." Britt muttered.

"Brittany-chan, could I see you for a moment prease?" Kiku whispered.

Following Kiku's orders, she followed him into the kitchen along with Kat so that no-one could hear their private conversation.

"Brittany-chan. I would rike to ask you a favour." Kiku explained.

"Oh God, if it's another short skirt Kiku then you know how I feel. But you can dress me up in what you like. You know I really have no say in the matter." Britt sighed.

"That is not it. I would rike to ask that you be nicer to Prussia-san."

"What? Why?" Britt snapped. "He told everyone that I had reappeared, remember?"

"Hai. I remember it well. But prease Brittany-chan, this is for the Café's sake."

"How so?"

"Well France-san's current hobby is reviewing and surveying other cafés and food estabrishments opened up by ferrow countries. If we can successfurry prease Prussia-san then we will have the support of two members of the Bad Touch Trio. Hopefurry that will be enough to attract the third."

"Why do we need France's opinion? What good will his review be?"

"Engrand. He has one of the most sophisticated parrets in the world. If we can get the support of a gourmet country then we can beat Café Kol easiry."

"So you want countries like China to review us?"

"Hai, I have taken China into consideration arso."

Something sounded a little melancholy in his voice and Britt instantly knew it was because of China. After all, the history between those two didn't always end on a happy note and the rumours about their feelings towards each other were sketchy at best.

"That's good to hear Kiku, but with getting other countries to observe us that comes with the risk of a bad reputation- you know that right?" Britt frowned.

"I do. That is why we must work very hard. I do not want to see this prace in ruin after so rong of watching it prosper." Kiku sighed.

"Don't we all...?" Britt muttered.

* * *

"We shall await you next time." Britt smiled as she curtseyed to Gilbert.

"Kesesese! _Danke schön_! Ze service vas... Vell... Awesome! Und ze outfits vere great!" Gilbert laughed.

At this point, the staff had different polite responses. Eliza posed by resting her prop chainsaw on her shoulder and creating a rock star hand gesture in front f her face, Lili blushed and looked away, Roderich bowed (despite his ever-twitching brow) and Britt made a lady-like curtsey.

"Vell, _tschüss_! I vill definitely be coming back here, cafés like zis are awesome!" Gilbert grinned.

They all waved him off and secretly, pretty much everyone was celebrating within their minds because they had successfully made Gilbert happy and that was sure to pay off very soon. Things for Café Cosplay were looking up, but were they enough to get ahead of Café Kol?

Only time could tell. And not much time was needed before an answer was to be given.

* * *

**TODAY'S COSPLAY:**

**(It's been ages since I last did this!)**

**Fandom: Kuroshitsuji/ Black Butler**

**Britt- Ciel Phantomhive, in his dress from episode 4**  
**Eliza- Grell Sutcliff (yes I know this means she's a boy)**  
**Lili- (Even though she wasn't described) Elizabeth Middleford (it works if you add hair extensions)**  
**Angie- Mey Rin**  
**Kat- Angela Blanc**  
**Roderich- William T. Spears**

**I love Kuroshitsuji. I know I switch between saying Kuroshitsuji and Black Butler but Black Butler just sounds snappier so I say that more, despite having only watched the Japanese version. The customer idea was inspired by awesome scones. I thought of the cosplay.**

* * *

**Originally, I was going to have Roderich as Sebastian. That way when Britt asked what happened to his glasses, he would say contacts and when she asks where he got them, he would say "If I couldn't change my appearance drastically with the use of contacts, then what kind of butler would I be?" and also Britt was going to remark on how it looked too similar to his normal outfit and so 'what kind of a cosplay is that?' and then Roderich would say: "It is simply one hell of a cosplay." *Shot***

**But I decided to change because my friend suggested William. Also I like William and didn't fancy using Claude. Though I guess it would have worked a little better if he were Sebastian since Eliza _is_ Grell.**

**So the cosplays are back! And with that comes requests! For both customers and cosplays! Requesting starts now!**

**(Also guys, I'm aware the review system now only allows 'Guest' reviews. So if you could start your review with the name you'd like to be referred to then I can still have some distinction between reviewers!)**

**Sayonara minna-san!**

**~Neko**


	5. The reviewer

**Konnichiwa! Sorry for a lack of updates, I would have released this sooner but I have reasons for releasing it today! First of all, as you know, the 27th July is the day the Olympics starts! However, just a few hours ago I had another extra special reason to update, therefore making today the happiest day of my life: the announcement of Hetalia volume 5 and a season 5 anime to be released November 2013. I hope you guys are all celebrating too. My tumblr is literally filled with Hetalia. All over my dashboard too.**

* * *

**Reviews~!**

**osa-chan- If I couldn't include Black Butler to please my readers/fans, then what kind of a writer would I be? I am pleased you think the awesomeness was of Prussia standard. That's very flattering to hear.**  
**Greece's kitty- So you could say they're... Out of the closet? *Shot* Sorry about that XD It happens.**  
**awesome scones- ...Awesome review, just awesome. Yes, if it weren't for you then Prussia might never have been in this story, it was you and your awesome reviews that got me the idea to include him. Thank you very much, but I'm afraid I'll never be that awesome. No matter how hard I try.**  
**Oceanfur- You should, I love Black Butler almost as much as Hetalia... Or at least I used to, but my respect for the Hetalia fandom shot up today to a level I never thought achievable. There will be a little more Kol action in this chapter!**  
**hendie- Better than the first? I doubt that highly. Sequels are rarely better than the originals (Except for Men in Black, those had _good_ sequels...).**  
**coin1996- I assure you, I will certainly be writing more.**  
**MDWOLFGIRL- Certain members may be able to attend. We shall see. I certainly like your ideas though. Hmm the other café? Perhaps I will do that at the end in a bonus chapter but I am not too sure. I will try though!**  
**Neelh- Yes I realise that, but bonus material is funny! Now I'm not too sure about the chronology of the musicals, but I have seen The Most Beautiful Death in The World. My favourite songs are Shinigami Haken Kyoukai no Theme, R-Shitei, Checkmate and Druitt no Jibun Sanka ^^**  
**CherieGrey- (Responding to both of your reviews)That's alright! Ahh... *Dies of embarrassment* Thank you so much for telling me! It's been corrected. If it weren't for you I would have never noticed that typo! I'm gonna go be embarrassed now... I am not beyond awesome though, that's quite an overstatement actually.**  
**_awesomely anonymous_- Da, I have updated! This? The best part? In my opinion it isn't. I know what my favourite part is...**  
**Ashe-Kuro- Liz, get back in the café. Because that didn't sound bad at all... So you loved yourself as Grell? Good. Now get back into the fanfiction and repair that wall on your way out.**  
**escritoria- (Responding to all four of your reviews) I thought my writing of Alfred was only adequate but if you say so... *High five for LOTR reference* Spain is awesome... Like a BOSS! Alfred? Groping? Never! Wait... *Thinks of FBOFW* Okay, maybe sometimes... Yes that was the Nantucket/ero-zone scene I was telling you about aaaages ago, glad you liked it. I want that dress too... Okay chapter 4 was okay, but I have better scenes to come. To be honest, that might have been one of the lowest chapters for me. That is if the cosplay wasn't awesome. Which it was. So I still liked it. It's about average.**

* * *

**Random fact: Originally, I had more scenes planned out for Café Cosplay and if I had included them, Canada would have been a main character. I had an idea for him to have a crush on Britt but in the end I realised the role of the person crushing on Britt would have to be mean. Not sweet like Canada. He never would have been able to create the plot twist I had in mind. **  
**So then I played with the idea of having Prussia instead and one morning as I was walking to school, I** **had my big moment and I decided instead of making him a crush, I'll have him temporarily kidnap Britt to get Eliza to save her and... You know the rest.  
So Canada became an extreme minor character. In fact, I believe he was only mentioned once.**

**Tanoshimu!**

* * *

"Okay git! I'm off to work!" Britt called.

"Wait Britt! I got something for ya!" Alfred yelled back.

Britt rolled her eyes. _He'd better make this quick or I'll be late for work. _It probably wasn't even that important anyway. It was probably something like a pointless idiotic gift, or maybe something she didn't need, or maybe even-

"This!"

But it was none of those things, for as she turned around, his lips crashed into hers and he wrapped his arms around her as they kissed passionately. The heat quickly rushed to her cheeks, and very soon a blush was obvious on her face. Britt let herself sink into the kiss for a few seconds, until Alfred pulled away- leaving a string of saliva being the only thin thing connecting them.

"That's all." He chuckled.

"What? You're just gonna leave it at that?" Britt frowned.

"Believe me Britt, I'd do much more than that if I could. But it's like you said, you've gotta go to work." Alfred smiled.

She knew there had to be a reason like that, and for that she face palmed in response. Of course he wouldn't stop without a reason- she should have seen it coming. However, she actually felt a little relieved he didn't go any further with it, after all Alfred's persistence seemed to be increasing as of late.

But apart from the annoyingly stupid reason for him stopping, that kiss had actually put her in a good mood for once. In fact she felt herself smiling all the way to work and gently humming various little tunes that floated into her head. She felt good about today. Today would be a good one at Café Cosplay.

...Or at least she hoped.

The small bell rang as she stepped into the comforting front room of Café Cosplay. It was then that she saw everyone gathered around the middle table, Antonio and Kiku sat upon the seats and staring down onto the table and the waitresses (Also Roderich) were gathered around.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" She smiled.

All looked up, but their expressions did not change. They looked shocked, devastated even and at a complete loss for words.

"Is there... Something wrong?" She asked.

Angie bit her lip and gave Britt an almost sympathetic look. She was wearing a white cowboy hat and her hair had been stripped of its usual trademark pigtails. Her shirt was yellow and sleeveless and accompanied by purple pants that went down to her calves.

"Well... The newspaper has been reporting lately that China has often been seen going into Café Kol and as a result of that, more people are visiting." She explained.

"What? How could China do that?" Britt snapped.

Eliza then stepped up, wearing a deep purple- almost Chinese thin dress decorated with pretty pink patterns and accompanied by gold hoop earrings.

"Vell I zink he, like ozer countries, likes Café Kol because of ze culinary skills it has to offer." Eliza explained.

"I know that Eliza, but why? I thought China hated Russia!" Britt frowned.

"Perhaps Café Kol really is too good..." Lili whispered.

Britt stared at Lili in her deep red jacket, fuzzy top hat and maroon shorts. Was she really right? Despite her good friendship with Lili, she didn't want her to be right. That would mean they'd have to give in.

"We can't jump to that conclusion!" Britt snapped. "This is Café Cosplay we're talking about! We don't simply throw in the towel! We keep our backs straight, our shoulders back and we maintain a stiff upper lip!"

"A stiff what?" Antonio asked.

Britt shot him a glare, and then continued with her inspirational little speech.

"We can't simply give in! It's not the Café Cosplay way! When the going gets tough, the tough get going!" Britt explained.

"And Ita-chan raises his white flag." Antonio smiled.

"Look you, do you need to go into the other room? I'm trying to make a motivational speech here!" Britt snapped.

Antonio shrank a little into his chair upon being yelled at and Kiku stood up triumphantly, his fist clenched determinedly and, if he hadn't been created with those brown soulless eyes, they probably would have been sparkling with motivation.

"Britt is right! If we put our strengths together there is no rimit to what we can accomprish!" Kiku declared. "As she says, when the going gets tough..."

"It's time for me to get out a white flag?" A voice asked.

Everyone turned to see Italy standing there. He had been listening for quite a while now it seemed. The only thing that struck Britt as odd though was the fact that he was wearing a long sleeved white shirt and black buttoned up waistcoat. His collar was up and a black ribbon was tied around it. In fact he looked rather fancy. Britt had enjoyed suits fondly back when she was Arthur, and now that she had changed had no exception.

"Italy? What are you doing here?" Britt frowned, resisting the urge to ask the question about the suit which was so deeply burning to be asked in the back of her mind.

"Ve... Well I'm-a here to see Japan!" He explained.

"I am here Itary-san, what is it that you need?" Kiku asked.

"Well uh..." Then he dropped his voice to a completely un-Italian level of quiet. "It's about the _'you-know-what'_. Germany says I'm meant to talk to you about it in private."

"I see, prease excuse me." Kiku sighed as he left for his office with Italy trailing behind.

Germany? Japan? _'You know what'_? Italy following orders correctly? What was going on? Did the you know what have something to do with him and Japan? No... Germany had been mentioned so maybe just Germany and Japan. Or perhaps... It was all three of them? But why? Could it... Have something to do with the Axis Powers? That was the first thing that sprang to mind when she thought of all three of them together.

Maybe they were planning to make another treaty? Or maybe they were going to try their old plans again? Would they... Even try and fight her? She was at a disadvantage of sorts now that she was a little poorer and working at a cosplay café... But no, surely they would never try it again. After all they had perfectly stable leaders and they were not in the same state as they had been back then. Germany was far from it actually and he had certainly been the worst.

These thoughts were overflowing Britt's mind and she almost lost track of what was going on. But she managed to snap back as she watched Kiku and Italy leave the room, proceeding their ascent to the offices upstairs.

_Once again, what the hell is going on?_

* * *

After Italy had gone, work in the café had continued without anymore strange interruptions- something that almost seemed odd to Britt who was almost used to that sort of thing. In fact, Kiku hadn't returned to the ground floor afterwards. Instead, Antonio went up and the two were left to their private discussions.

In fact, Britt didn't see either of them for the rest of the day. They were eventually let go early so Britt naturally presumed that they were making important café-related decisions. Britt couldn't help but be a little bit curious, so after work she phoned up Italy as she was walking home. To her surprise, it went to answer phone:

_Ciao! Feliciano Vargas here! I'm not here right now, so I'm probably cooking pasta! Either that or I'm with Germany because that tends to happen a lo- __**ITALY! VAT ARE YOU DOING UND VHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT ME ON ZE PHONE? –**__Ge-Germanyyyy! Please let go of my neck! I'm just recording an answering phone message! __**...Oh. Very vell zen. Hallo Italy's friends. Italy vill ring you back **__**or else.**__...Germany your creepy glaring is getting a little scary now!_

Britt had to hold the phone away from her ear for certain parts in that message. It was evident that Italy was not at home, and since it was his home phone- that meant that Romano and Germany weren't there either. It was odd. Britt expected at least one of them to be home. All three out was more than a little odd.

_Seriously, what the hell is going on?_

* * *

_**That night...**_

Thankfully, despite the odd day she had been having, Britt was able to return home to a loving boyfriend who- like most nights- wanted to watch a film. Unfortunately, like the majority of these nights, it was a horror film.

And Alfred had a tendency to do more than just jump at horror films.

"AHH BRITT DID YOU SEE THAT? TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF RIGHT NOW!"

After these demands had been made (which was too often for Britt's taste) she would do as instructed and turn off the TV. However, after she had done so would earn a reaction like:

"Dude, what did ya do that for?" Alfred would frown.

Then Britt would respond with:

"You told me to turn it off."

Which, of course, would provoke a reaction like:

"Dude, I was JOKING. Now turn it back on!"

Now really Britt would have preferred to either say no and leave it off or say no and storm upstairs, however, more often than not, Alfred would add a comment like.

"You ain't scared are ya?"

Even if he didn't add that, she still would have joined him again anyway for a couple of reasons: 1) she could never get to sleep anyway even if her room was quite far away because Alfred (as practically everyone had noticed) had a loud voice and 2) she didn't really want to leave because Alfred's reactions to horror films were hilarious.

But the horror film itself was much worse than usual, Britt had found. The plot was both dire and stupid and, like she had discovered with many horror films she watched with Alfred, she found herself neither jumping, neither flinching, nor screaming at the lame attempts the film was making to cause these reactions.

_So stupid... I lost track of the plot ages ago. Where are they? What are they doing? What's going on at the current...?_

But she lost her train of thought, for on the screen an answer was being produced for her. She tried not to react. She just bit her lip and looked to the other side of the room as she tried to avert her eyes from the awkward and graphic sex scene that was taking place on the TV.

She tried suddenly being interested in the ceiling, the floor- hell anything was better than actually having to watch the intense scene. But no matter where she looked, no matter

It was times like this that made Britt wonder how on Earth they ever coped back when she was a man. When she was Arthur. These kind of scenes in films were always awkward for anyone so usually she would just have to bear through it but...

_"Fine. But only one kiss." _

_"N'aww okay." _

She cast her mind back to the other night when they had encountered the same kind of awkwardness while watching another film, where she had foolishly submitted to his desires. Did he want her to do the same now?

She didn't want to take the risk of even trying to find out. So she avoided all eye contact at all costs and avoided trying to leave the room as well.

_Endure it Britt... Just try and get through it... Don't blush, don't look... Just get through it!_

Finally to Britt's relief, the scene ended and she was free to feel comfortable again. However, she was not out of the woods just yet.

"Ahh... I'm tired... I think I'm going to go to sleep. Night Alfred." Britt fake yawned.

And before Alfred could protest, she had escaped upstairs and collapsed onto her comforting bed. She let out a sigh before changing into her night gown and climbing into bed in an attempt to fall asleep. Of course, she couldn't do it but Alfred didn't need to know that. He had no idea that when he stroked her hair and planted a soft kiss to her forehead as he went to bed that night that she was really awake.

* * *

_**Meanwhile...**_

"...And that's the situation so far." Kiku finished explaining.

"Wow..." Antonio sighed.

"Hai. It seems that there is someone out there." Kiku nodded.

"Someone who is secretly reviewing cafés..." Antonio whispered.

"And then submitting them anonymousry to Gilbert-san's world newspaper..."

"Do you have any idea who it could be?"

"Who knows... It could be a person working undercover in a café, it could be a regurar in a café- it could be anyone. But what matters is that their opinion is valued and we need to do our best to impress them."

"Yeah, but I'm just trying to figure out who it is..."

"I was wondering that also..."

The two stared down at the open newspaper on their table. They were both staring at a single article that was catching their eye:

**Café Kol- review**

**Today I visited the amazing Café Kol everyone's been talking about! The food was delicious, and the outfits in the café were really pretty! They really have a good food selection there which is probably because of the multicultural waitresses.  
Café Kol is actually a cosplay café run by Russia. He happens to be a friend of mine who I've worked closely with before! I'm hoping he'll be a great manager to this café and they have many successes in the future!**

**My rating: 9 out of 10, it's amazing!**

"I think it's safe to assume that this is a girl reviewing them. The words she uses are very feminine and she uses a rot of excramation marks and seems unaffected by Russia's... Mannerisms..." Kiku muttered.

"And she seems really bright and cheery too!" Antonio grinned.

"Hai, that too. But there's something else..." Kiku mumbled.

"Huh? What is it mi amigo?"

"She said she's worked very crosery with Russia-san. If you ask me..."

Antonio tilted his head to the side at Kiku and leaned in. Kiku looked out of the window at the dormant sight of Café Kol and then back at Antonio.

"I think she works for Café Kol."

* * *

**...Plot twist.**

* * *

**TODAY'S COSPLAY:**

**Fandom: One Piece**

**Britt- Actually I never described Britt's cosplay now that I think about it! However, I wanted her to be Perona.**  
**Lili- Tony Tony Chopper**  
**Eliza- Boa Hancock**  
**Angie- Nico Robin**  
**Roderich- Was meant to be Brook**

**I was very happy with today's cosplay. I got a lot of help, descriptions and background information on the various characters. Today's cosplay was all thanks to hendie and the customer (which we're going to say was Italy) is an important part of the plot, so it's thanks to me.**

* * *

**I'm getting light bulbs all the time. The Italy related one came to me a few weeks ago. I did my research, and google provided me with a solution. Italy will pop up again one way or another. Look forward to it. Who do you think the mystery ****café reviewer is?**

**Please review! Especially on today of all days!**

**Sayonara minna-san!**

**~Neko**


	6. Deal with 'The Devil'

**Konnichiwa! I am so sorry for not updating! I'm not even going to check the last time I updated because it'll probably make me want to just go die in the corner... I wanted to update this sooner- preferably the 25th of September to celebrate the release of the special episode. But today's still fine!**

* * *

**Reviews~!**

**Ashe-Kuro- Thank you very much. Now excuse me for shouting but FIX THAT FOURTH WALL. NOW.**  
**Greece's Kitty- Yeah. I love plot twists :D Which is why people are probably going to hate me when they reach the bottom. Belgium? ...Let's just say that's a pretty darn good guess ;)**  
**awesome scones- I'm a very modest person I guess. People often say that I am too hard on myself. Promotions aren't _that_ shameless but thank you so much! That's very kind of you!**  
**_Guesty Guest D_- Oh that's very impressive Mr/Miss Guest! Have a cookie for being so awesome at reading! *hands cookie* Too much time is good. I wish I had that. Sorry about the updates- I'm working on it. I'm not that epic, but high five to you for liking those things also! *high fives* A hug as well? Alright then! *hugs***  
**Oceanfur- I tried very hard to think about what they would really say, so it ended up like that. I like your guessing here. You're a little far away from the truth, but it's only early days at the moment!**  
**Neelh- Awesome! Me and my friend are going to learn Black and White/Checkmate. She's gonna be Ciel and I'm gonna be Sebastian. People think we sound good together. Poor lil' Feli... Don't want him to grow up... Well... Maybe he can grow up enough to start going out with Germany...**  
**MDWOLFGIRL- Your ideas haven't just been considered. Just you wait ;) Those two are so cute, you can't help but ship it. **  
**hetaliausuklover- Yay for Shugo Chara! My first ever anime... Ukraine is a good guess I suppose! It may or may not be the actual reviewer, but hey you're free to hope it! And you rock for reviewing!**  
**escritoria- ...She is going out with the United States of America. I think anyone would kill to be in her position... Gotta love that Italian!**

* * *

**Random fact: Britt was originally meant to have glasses like the actual Nyotalia Iggy, but then I thought that it would be a little difficult for cosplay. Also, my best friend decided to draw a picture of her for me when she heard about Café Cosplay and when she got to the eyes she asked "Does Britt have glasses?" I told her that I hadn't decided. I expressed my concerns to her, but I also said "Most people include them, so I probably will."**

**And you know what she did? She clung onto my arm and said "But you aren't 'most people'!" and that was how I decided not to include them.**

**Tanoshimi!**

**P.S Did no-one notice that I said "Back straight, shoulders back, stiff upper lip" last chapter? A line from the original.**

* * *

"Welcome home master!"

"Ugh, they don't pull it off as well as we do. She's got the smile but-"

"Britt. Shush." Eliza hissed.

_Call it what you want. Spying, reconnaissance- I still think it's stalking._

This thought was quite often found popping into Britt's head that morning. However, even if she wanted to, she probably wouldn't have been able to voice it. After all, a certain Hungarian waitress might have killed her if she even dared to try.

But more importantly to the point, Britt and Eliza were conducting reconnaissance (_Stalking_), more specifically, on Café Kol. The girl Britt had complained about for apparently not getting the traditional cosplay café greeting was Belgium. Thankfully, no signs of Belarus... Yet.

But they had good reason to fear a sudden surprise visit from Belarus. After all, every time they did it was usually a mad scramble to return to the safety of Café Cosplay and (though they had yet to experience this fear) a surge of worry for when and how Café Kol might strike back.

But so far, they had been in luck. Nothing bad had occurred, so it was almost like there was no real conflict between them and Café Kol. But still, Kiku had refused to let his guard down like the determined nation he was and rightly so, for the odd cheery non-exciting atmosphere in the air was obviously too good to be true.

"It's China." Eliza whispered.

"China?" Britt gasped.

Eliza immediately directed another 'shh' towards Britt and handed her the headphones. Britt also popped her head up to see what exactly was going on.

And it was true. There seated at a small table for one in the Café Kol was China- the nation who was actually in Café Cosplay not too long ago, giving her advice on karma and arguing with Kiku about his mannerisms.

_Why China? Why would you favour Café Kol of all places over us?_

But then, a new development: a waitress had come to serve Yao- a brown haired waitress with brown eyes and a wild curly strand of hair sticking out of the right side of her head.

"Welcome home." She muttered coldly, not even bothering to make eye contact with Yao.

"Ai ya..." China sighed. "Taiwan I-"

"What would you like to order?" She asked, not sounding polite and cheery at all.

"...Zui Xie-aru..." China muttered.

Then Taiwan left without another word. Suddenly, Britt was puzzled. Why was Taiwan not as cheery? Shouldn't she be even more cheery than usual now that she was with her 'teacher'? As Britt ducked to avoid being seen by Belarus, she had to ponder over all of these strange questions that formed- though particularly one that kept coming back to bug her:

Why was Taiwan angry with China?

Eventually a waitress re-emerged with China's order- however, it was not Taiwan. Britt instantly recognised the cold emotionless brown-haired girl as Vietnam. As usual she was not trying the whole 'service with a smile' thing and served China's meal silently. It was only until after she placed the crab dish that she spoke.

"She thinks you've betrayed Japan." Vietnam stated simply.

"Ai ya... I know." China sighed, holding his head in his hands.

"...You should go." She muttered after a long pause.

"Huh?" China asked.

"To the other café." She finished.

Other café? Did that mean Café Cosplay? There weren't many others that Britt knew of and Café Cosplay seemed the closest to their location so surely it must have been the 'other café' she was referring to.

"But... I can't do that-aru! You know about my deal with Russia!" China explained.

_Deal with Russia? _Britt and Eliza exchanged looks of shock. It was a new piece of information. They had never heard of a deal with Russia before. It certainly hadn't been made public at least. Was China insane? Why would China agree to a deal with Russia?

Suddenly, Britt noticed Eliza packing up and it seemed she was in a rush to leave and not to discover more about this supposed deal. Britt looked around in a panic- quickly finding the reason for Eliza's panic in the form of a crazy brother-obsessed nation. Belarus was onto them, and although she was leaving the dining area in no particular hurry, she was still able to inject enough fear into them to make them panicky and begin to flee as if they were escaping with their lives.

Quickly they scurried across the road, fleeing like mice from a psychopath cat. Only once they were safe in the secure loving comfort of Café Cosplay did Eliza bother to try and speak.

"Britt..." She panted heavily, taking long pauses between her words. "I think... She saw us!"

* * *

_**Later...**_

"The whole point was to not be caught." Kiku said sternly. "Even if you did obtain new information, we may not be able to go back again due to the fact that they may have upped their game."

"I know but-" Eliza began.

"Truly sorry Kiku. It was my fault." Britt cut her off. "I didn't prepare in time. I didn't even realise Eliza had been packing until she had finished. It's my fault really."

"I see. That is most disappointing Brittany-chan." Kiku whispered.

"Yet he still calls you –chan..." Eliza muttered with a small giggle.

"W-well, it is time to change into your cosprays for the day." Stuttered Kiku, trying to change the subject hastily. "And Britt, as punishment you will be on singing duty."

"I'm always on singing duty anyway..." Britt muttered.

* * *

_**Meanwhile...**_

"Ai ya... What am I to do-aru?" China sighed to himself.

China was sitting alone in the park, his head hung low and his oversized sleeves overlapping his hands. No-one had any idea of the current predicament he was facing... Well, except maybe for one.

"...I see you're back again-aru." China whispered.

Standing just a short distance away was Vietnam in her mandatory Café Kol cosplay uniform. Today hers consisted of long thigh-high black boots, a frilled blank and white skirt accompanied by black shorts to cover her undergarments and a jacket. This jacket was both black and white- the cuffs, shoulders and front being white and the rest being black- and the collar spiked up as well. Her hair which was normally tied back into a low ponytail was now tied into two pigtails- presumably to add to the accuracy of her cosplay.

"Will you sit down-aru?" China asked.

Vietnam did as instructed, but she still did not speak. She chose a comfortable distance away from China to speak and took the opportunity to stare up at the fluffy white clouds in the sky- her face still without a happy smile.

"What should I do-aru?" China whispered softly.

The situation that China was in could certainly be seen as problematic. Unbeknownst to Britt, Kiku and all the other members of Café Cosplay, he was protecting them.

And the way he was protecting them was through his deal with Russia.

It wasn't like China _wanted _to make a deal with Russia. In fact, that seemed ten times worse than making a deal with the evil itself. But China had very good reasoning behind everything he had done. Reasoning so great that it was probably how he had found himself in his current predicament.

It had all started when Taiwan had joined Café Kol. China had no problem with her trying to make a little extra cash, but when Vietnam was dragged into it- he began to get a little concerned. Taiwan and Vietnam, two girls that were very close to China, were working for Russia- one of (in China's opinion) the creepiest nations ever to grace the planet.

And the head of the rival café was Japan. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going to happen. Russia was going to fight Japan. Not literally, but it was clear that Russia intended to destroy his and Spain's precious café.

And China knew it was very likely that Taiwan and Vietnam would be hurt in this process. Perhaps even more than just emotionally if Russia's extremely affectionate little sister came into play. That was when China decided to go and confront Russia...

* * *

**Flashback**

* * *

"_Russia! Is it true that your rival café is Café Cosplay-aru?" China exclaimed._

"_Da." Russia smiled._

"_A-and Japan owns that café... Am I right-aru?" China asked, faltering slightly._

"_Da." Russia beamed._

_It was amazing how Russia could say so much in just one simple Russian word and a single creepy child-like smile. Likewise it was amazing how China could piece together the cogs working in Russia's mind and figure out his plan- and all he needed to ask was two simple questions._

"_...I'll make a deal with you-aru." China whispered._

"_Hm?" Russia hummed, opening his violet eyes and tilting his head innocently to the side._

"_You will leave Japan alone-aru." China muttered. "You will not try and fight him, you will simply leave him. That goes for everyone else in the café too-aru. Café Cosplay will remain untouched by members of Café Kol. Deal?"_

_Russia took a moment to ponder this thought. His large fingers wrapped around his chin and the smile temporarily vanished from his face- showing that he was thinking very deeply about this deal. After a few seconds, Russia removed his hand and the smile sprang back up once more._

"_Okay. I will agree to your demands, now here comes my side of the deal." Russia smiled._

_China hesitantly nodded, preparing himself for the worst._

"_In return for this favour, you won't go to Café Cosplay. In fact, you can't talk to Japan at all. Deal?" _

_China thought for a moment. In return for Japan's safety, he would have to ignore Japan completely. Was it really worth it? To save Japan and everyone else?_

"_...Deal."_

_A deal with Russia was like a deal with the devil. But China decided to risk it, just to protect Japan._

* * *

**End flashback**

* * *

"Should I go and see Japan-aru?" China asked. "Or should I stay with this deal?"

Then Vietnam turned to China and, her face still emotionless and without a smile, she spoke to him very softly and slowly.

"I know you want to protect Japan." She muttered, making China nod in agreement. "But I don't think he needs protecting. You remember when Japan left you? When he left, he knew that he could make it on his own. I am not saying you should leave him though- in fact I think you should go to him and support him. After all..."

At this point, Vietnam stood up to leave, but stopped in front of China just before doing so.

"Deep down, he's still very important to you isn't he?"

Finally Vietnam left, leaving China a little wiser than he already was and with his mind made up with Vietnam's input.

* * *

"Buena suerte, Britt!" Antonio beamed.

Britt just grunted for her response. A little un-ladylike and quite rude to be perfectly honest, but when you were forced to wear cosplays day after day, it was almost natural to get a little flustered and shirty with your co-workers.

And who could blame her when her old foe had returned? (Short skirts- not France but then again either was pretty annoying) Not to mention the fact that she had to carry around a small whip in addition to her cosplay (honestly, what were these Japanese thinking when they designed these outfits?)

Today her outfit was mostly blue. Her top was a pure white with dark blue stripes in various places and her skirt was the same sort of dark blue, with a few keys and a whip on her belt. Part of her hair was tied up with a pretty blue ribbon and her boots were a stylish jet black.

But what seemed to make it worse was that out of all of the staff working at Café Cosplay, it seemed that Britt sang most. Occasionally, Angelique would sing with her chirpy cute little voice or Elizaveta or Kat would sing- their voices being passionate, beautiful and proud. Lili didn't really sing. She would hum occasionally while working but would never sing on stage- probably because she was a bit too young.

But Britt sang most. And today her song didn't even go with the anime she was cosplaying. However, Britt knew from experience not to argue: it was better to just get on with it...

_I run past others with a parched heart.  
Sorry, I can't do anything.  
You won't even let me,  
Share our pain together..._

Britt had no idea that, as she sang, another customer was slowly approaching the café. Ready to share Kiku's pain, just as Britt had sung.

_To live on without tarnish,  
I face your back and head out without looking back on the lonely rail..._

Yao was on a lonely rail, and had been for many, many years- before other nations had started cropping up in fact. He had known what it was like to be 'on the lonely rail' which was why he couldn't let Kiku suffer through it too.

_I will follow you,  
No matter how agonizing the world is.  
You will shine even in its darkest corners.  
Cross over the end of the future,  
My weakness will not shatter my spirit,  
My way is overlapping with yours.  
For the two of us, God bless..._

Britt looked to the back of the café. Eliza and Kat were jumping up and down and clapping along- having some harmless fun. Even if Kat making her 'tracks of land' like that could be a possible safety hazard.

_This warming affection that reaches me,  
It melts my reality and roams my heart.  
I don't need a reason for wanting to meet you,  
Just my overflowing feelings, lovin' you..._

Everyone was cheering Britt on as she got more into the song, which usually happened quite a lot when she sang. However, the only difference today was that Kiku was not there because he was locked away in his office again, calculating Café Cosplay's incomings and outgoings. How she wished he could be here for her...

_For now, let's paint a beautiful dream_  
_And chase after for your lonely heart..._

Then, just as Britt was about to go back and sing the chorus, a new customer stepped into the café. It caught the attention and intent stares of everyone cheering Britt on- even the gaze of Britt herself. But she didn't let her curiosity show. She just carried on singing like nothing had changed.

_Stop it, it's not like you to lie.  
Look at my eyes and let's talk about our future.  
I am prepared,  
Even if the future is bleak,  
I might be able to change destiny if I become stronger.  
But for my wish to come true,  
Everything is God knows..._

That brown hair tied back into a casual low ponytail... Those focused brown eyes, wizened by the knowledge of 4000 years... Yao Wang- The People's Republic of China- had finally entered the café.

_You are here, I am here...  
Everyone else has disappeared..._

No-one dared to stop him, for deep down everyone knew why he was there. Eliza was grinning as she watched him walk- her face as shiny as the suit of armour that she had been forced to wear today. Even Austria smiled a little, his arms still crossed to cover his bare chest and temporary dark blue tattoo.

_While we paint the beauty of this fleeting dream,  
We trace out the lines of our scars._

And as Yao slowly ascended the wooden stairs leading to Kiku's office on the floor above, Britt couldn't help but let a small smile creep across her (usually scowling) face. Without a care in the world and having gotten into the full swing of the song, she let her voice boom out as she reached the final chorus.

_That's why I will follow you.  
No matter how agonizing the world is,  
You will shine even in its darkest corners.  
Cross over the end of the future,  
My weakness will not shatter my spirit.  
My way is overlapping with yours.  
For the two of us, _

_God bless..._

* * *

Naturally, China was the big news amongst the staff of Café Cosplay. Finally he was here- finally he was re-united with Japan. Perhaps he was here to help Café Cosplay? Perhaps he was here to aid them in the fight against Café Kol? Ever since he arrived earlier that day, he had been in Japan's office- most likely having a discussion with his little brother about the café.

And then, it happened. It started with the slow footsteps of feet on the landing above, then said footsteps getting louder as they descended the stairs- anticipation building.

Then finally, China and Japan arrived at the foot of the stairs, greeted by the bright smiles of Eliza, Britt, Angie, Kat and Lili- as well as the approving stare of Roderich.

"Konnichiwa minna-san." Kiku whispered, bowing while China muttered a small 'ni hao' as he lifted an oversized sleeve.

Everyone beamed, expecting great news and just waiting to hear it. But Britt began to feel her smile fade slightly: the two Asian nations weren't smiling. In fact the two males were the exact opposite of happy- they looked solemn, stern and overall pretty grim.

"As you know, this is China. And yes, he has exprained the situation to me and he will not be going back to Russia- he will be visiting Café Cospray every day from now on." Kiku explained.

This didn't look good. Obviously there was more to this story. Obviously there was something giving them a reason to look the way that they did. True, Kiku usually was a serious character, but China would definitely have looked happier if it really was all happy and rosy.

"But that will rast rong. In fact, as of tomorrow, Café Cospray is going to be shut down."

* * *

**...Now I know I haven't updated in ages, and I know that last line was simply horrible but just think before you act: what exactly would killing me accomplish?**

**That song was God Knows by Aya Hirano- from the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.**

* * *

**TODAY'S COSPLAY:**

**Fandom: Fairy Tail**

**Britt- Lucy Heartfilia**  
**Eliza- Erza Scarlet**  
**Roderich- Gray Fullbuster**  
**Kat (not mentioned)- Lisanna Strauss**

**Meanwhile, at Café Kol, the fandom was D. Gray Man and Vietnam was dressed as Lenalee Lee. **

**D. Gray Man suggested by hollie the hedgehog, Fairy Tail requested by CherieGrey.**

* * *

**Sorry again about the update! Things are going to start to get better I promise! Look forward to next chapter, I promise it won't let you down ;)**

**Sayounara minna-san!**

**~Neko**


	7. Light Bulb Bathtub Moment

**Hiya guys! Due to my great happy mood lately, I decided I'd treat you all to a bit of Café Kol! I've missed you all! But I'm sure a lot of you probably just forgot about me- it has been a long time since the last update after all.**

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**Reviews~!**

**Greece's Kitty- Uhh... Very emotional are we? Japan will explain in this chapter and Russia is currently out with the Kol-ers right now so I shall apologise on his behalf. *bows* Sorry.**  
**pingo1387- I'll look into it! I'm starting to forget a bit about the cosplays so if I can fit that in soon then that will hopefully get me back on track!**  
**awesome scones- Please don't cry! I don't want any of my readers to cry! ...Well... I want them to cry at _sad _fics but not my ordinary ones. Here, have some cyber tissues with your update. *hands tissues* This website is where I go to feel better after school work too. That and Tumblr, as well as Skype.**  
**Oceanfur- I missed you too! With so much happy feeling lately (and less homework), it was hard to not update! Ah I love suspense... And Tragedy... Oh and Fantasy and- you know what? I think I should stop talking about myself and carry on with this update...**  
**coin1996- They _could_ shut down. It's obviously why Japan said it right? Ah well, Café Cosplay has had a good run- don't you think? (XD Sorry, I suppose I don't want them to close either. Not just yet anyway.)**  
**_Ashe-Kuro_- You're awesome too my dear fangirl. A self-repairing fourth wall? How many fandoms have those? Maybe it's just Hetalia- cuz we're AWESOME! I cut my hair short a while back. Once I was Hungary, then I became Seychelles. Eventually it turned into Liechtenstein... :(**  
**Kick-arse Hero- Yes. No short skirts. That really would be a disaster. (Sure would be for the girls in my school XD) Ohh! It's you! awesomely anonymous, welcome back!**  
**escritoria- Café Cospray? Are you Japan now? Do you sense the mood and refrain from speaking? Well Man has been suggested by some people (Hollie) and some people (Hollie) are completely obsessed with D. Gray Man. Hehe... That face... That guy is so (sexy) very amusing... Too many brackets.**

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**Random fact: Alfred was originally going to work in Café Cosplay. However, I'm not quite sure when I decided against this idea. I suppose I prefer him as a character that just sort of pops up randomly and, looking back on it now, I don't think the story would have worked as well if Alfred had worked there too.**

**And besides, I can't quite picture America- the world's superpower, working in a Cosplay Café. No matter how much he loves England.**

**Tanoshimi!**

* * *

It took Britt a little while to fully process what she had just been told. Had she heard that right? Was Kiku joking? He had to be! But... Kiku wasn't exactly the joking type. And even when he was, his jokes were usually a type of pun humour or anime reference.

"Wha... What did you say?" Britt whispered.

"I said Café Cospray is going to be crosed down." Kiku repeated.

The looks on the faces of her fellow staff... The look on Kiku's face... It must have been true. No-one would have looked this serious if it was a joke.

"But... Why?" Britt asked.

"I am sure that you are all aware that we are rosing customers. We are not making enough money to support this café. In fact, if we keep it running any ronger then we will have to use our own money to pay for the cost of the café." Kiku explained.

So that was why. There was no way that Britt could argue with that. Income was everything when running a business like Café Cosplay.

"Kiku... Is there any way we could save this place?" Britt asked hopefully.

The black-haired nation paused to think for a moment. Britt even found herself chanting the words 'please let there be a way' over and over, like it would become a reality if she said it enough times.

"Well... If we earned enough money tomorrow..." Kiku muttered, but then shook his head. "But there is no way. We would have to earn a rot of money- I am not sure if we can earn all the money needed in just one day."

A lot of money... Deep down, all of them wanted to earn that money in one day. But it would be a lot of hard work to do that in one day, especially when everything they had tried so far never seemed to work. They needed something new, something original.

"Now everyone risten. "Kiku instructed. "Tomorrow, the uniform is your choice. You must cospray as a country. It can be yourself, or someone else. But prease, I want you to try your hardest and be as accurate as possible."

A country? It was certainly an interesting idea, but it wasn't like it would get them the money they needed.

"It is crosing time now. Prease have a good think about who you would rike to impersonate. It can be any nation, and from any historical period of your choice."

_Any nation and any historical period? Hmm..._

* * *

Britt pulled on her grey tights and slid into her black slip-on shoes. How great it felt to be back in her own clothes, to wear skirts that she didn't have to constantly pull down for comfort... Could she really get used to this if Café Cosplay closed?

"Well how do you girls feel about all this?" Britt asked curiously.

Eliza shut her locker and turned back, placing her hands firmly on her hips.

"You say 'you girls' as if you aren't one yourself." Eliza huffed. "Just because you changed, it doesn't mean zat you're not a girl."

"And just because I _used _to be a guy and I happen to be going out with America, it doesn't mean that you have to be so... Supportive... Of our relationship." Britt retorted.

"But you're so adorable dear." Eliza giggled. "Anyvay, back to your question. Ve're all very upset, but zere's no vay around it."

"Ah..." Britt responded, slightly upset that Eliza thought it was impossible to save their café.

"I vould love to save our café." Lili piped up. "I think ve could still save it."

"It vould take somezing big." Eliza bit her lip, stroking Lili's hair sympathetically.

"But zere must be somezing?" Lili asked.

"I don't know..." Eliza whispered. "I really don't know."

"Elizaveta!" Came Roderich Edelstein's stern voice. "Are you ready to leave yet?"

Eliza promptly slammed her locker door shut and quickly pulled on her boots- responding to Roderich's call like some kind of obedient soldier. Britt was simply amazed at her speed and just stared at the peppy yaoi-loving brunette as she proceeded to leave the room.

"Wait a minute Eliza!" Britt called, making Eliza stop in response. "Who are you cosplaying as tomorrow?"

Eliza simply grinned. She had a pretty smile, but Britt knew that face all too well and at once she knew that Eliza was planning something positively evil.

"Zat's a secret." She smiled.

And then she left, making Britt sigh and hang her head. She was _not _looking forward to this. Not one bit. Lili merely gave Britt her most sympathetic look, as did Kat. But neither of them had any need to worry because they didn't know Eliza as well as Britt did. In a way, Britt's changing into a woman had opened doors for her. After all, Britt would never have gotten on with any of the girls as well as she did if she was still a man.

"Cheer up Britt. It von't be zat bad." Lili whispered sympathetically.

"It will. Who will you be impersonating Lili?" Britt inquired casually.

"Oh, mine vill be a secret too." Lili smiled.

"Angie? Kat?" Britt asked, now really keen to know at least _one _outfit that she would be seeing tomorrow.

"Someone sounds desperate." Angie smiled as she slung her bag over her shoulder and prepared to leave.

"I'm not bloody desperate!" Britt snapped, when in truth she actually was.

"Sure. Whatever you say, eyebrows." Angie giggled as she left.

"My eyebrows are perfectly normal-sized, thank you very much!" Britt yelled, this time telling the truth because ever since she had become a girl- she had in fact been plucking her eyebrows. She sighed in defeat. "Old habits die hard I suppose... Kat?"

"Oh, I am not sure." Kat frowned. "I am trying to think of someone that looks similar to me..."

Lili and Britt exchanged worried looks. It seemed both were thinking along the same lines. It just so happened that Kat had someone that looked very similar to her. Similar hair length... Hair colour... It may have been a male, but that wasn't really a problem.

"Kat... You do know you have siblings don't you?" Britt frowned, aware that she was asking a dumb question.

Kat tilted her head, thankfully her tracts of land not moving with her. Landslide averted.

"But my sister's hair is too long." She stated simply.

Britt didn't know about Lili, but right now the Brit was resisting an extreme urge to slap a hand to her forehead in an exasperated fashion.

"Kat. We were thinking more along the lines of your brother." Britt explained. "You know, the one who wants to put our café out of business and is pretty much the reason why we will be closing tomorrow."

"Oh yes! I suppose I could cosplay my little brother." Kat beamed.

Britt sighed and smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. It seemed that Kat's crazy sister was right: double D really did mean double dumb.

* * *

_**Later...**_

But despite all of the excitement that was going around because of tomorrow, Britt still couldn't bring herself to be completely happy. After all, Café Cosplay was closing down- how could she be happy? Deep down she really did care the café and its members- even if she never really showed it.

So tomorrow would be their last day... Russia had won, they had lost and Britt would not be able to earn the money that she needed desperately. All of this was a heavy burden on her shoulders, so as she walked in through the front door of her home- she decided that a bath would be the best thing to clear her head.

So she headed straight up to the bathroom- wanting nothing more than to relax and forget her troubles, even if it was only for a little while.

But as she opened the door to her comforting bathroom, she found something else in there which was certainly _not _relaxing and most definitely _wouldn't _help her forget her troubles.

America was in her bathroom.

But not only that, he was naked. _Naked _in her bathroom. From what she could quickly gather, Alfred had decided to have a shower in there- but had obviously finished just as she got home. She could tell quite easily from the way he was drying his damp hair with a soft towel- his features glowing with the water left over from his hot shower.

Britt felt her eyes being drawn to his damp dripping hair, slowly drifting down to his toned chest, which was lightly tanned and had quite obviously seen a lot of exercise- despite the many fat comments that the other nations made. And slowly but surely, Britt felt her eyes trailing down until she got to his-

Then it occurred: what on Earth was she doing? She was gawking at America like some dirty pervert. Well not for much longer because upon realising this, she slammed the door shut and fell back against the wall next to the door. There weren't even enough words available to express the embarrassment she was feeling.

A few moments later, the door re-opened and Alfred's head popped out. He turned his head a few times, looking for Britt no doubt and, upon finding her, he leaned back against the doorframe casually. Thankfully, he had now made himself slightly more decent by wrapping a towel around his waist and vital regions.

"Like whatcha see baby?" He smirked.

Britt felt the blood rush to her cheeks and the next she knew, she was avoiding all contact with Alfred. It wasn't exactly that she _had _liked what she had seen- it was more the fact that once again she was in one of _those_ situations with Alfred.

"Y-you wish!" Britt stuttered.

Alfred opened his mouth to say more, but before he could Britt grabbed him by the shoulders and proceeded in trying to push him out. It wasn't like Britt could really move the strongest nation in the world, but she was merely trying to make a point- and thankfully Alfred got it.

"Okay okay! Chill out babe!" Alfred sighed. "You want the bathroom- I get it. I'm not that dumb y'know."

"Yes yes, you're very intelligent which is why I'm going out with you." Britt rolled her eyes, sighing exasperatedly.

"I thought it was 'cuz of me stepping in to save you and our totally hardcore make out session?" Alfred smiled.

"That was _not _a 'totally hardcore make out session' that was a kiss on my front porch." Britt huffed. "Furthermore, I didn't need saving. I was fine on my own."

"You were up against the whole world."

"So?"

"That includes France."

"You know the good thing about France? He runs away when someone is threatening him. And he's not as clueless as _some _people."

"Aww so you like France better than me now?" Alfred pouted childishly.

"I'm just trying to make a point!" Britt snapped, still pushing Alfred with all her might and beginning to make her arms ache just a little.

"If ya love France so much, why don't you marry him?" Alfred smirked.

"I'll marry you in a minute!"

Alfred stopped moving. Britt stopped pushing. That had all come out completely wrong and they both knew it. If it was possible, Britt's blush was increasing. Alfred wasn't as embarrassed though. In fact, his smile had dropped completely. And then he turned, another grin spreading its way across his happy face. Britt could tell he was thinking of something bad, and as Alfred got down on his one knee- she knew that she was right.

"Brittany Kirkland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." Alfred grinned, trying his hardest to hold back a laugh. "Will you-?"

"ALFRED IF YOU DON'T LEAVE ME IN PEACE RIGHT NOW I SWEAR THAT I WILL NOT ONLY THROW AWAY YOUR VIDEO GAMES BUT I WILL ALSO SHOVE THAT IMAGINARY ENGAGEMENT RING OF YOURS RIGHT UP YOUR GOOD FOR NOTHING ARSE!"

* * *

_**Later...**_

As if her problems today weren't bad enough, Britt had to deal with a hysterical American laughing like a hyena after being kicked down the stairs. Now she was alone, sitting in a bath filled with warm water and soapy bubbles.

What would she do without Café Cosplay? Without it she'd lose money, she'd lose the connections she'd made with those working there. That place was precious to her and she'd do anything to save it. Anything.

"Hiya England!"

Britt's head automatically tilted upwards and floating up there was two of her imaginary friends: Tinkerbell and Flying Mint Bunny.

"Hello my friends!" Britt beamed. "How are you? Wait... Where are Hook and Leprechaun? And what about Un-"

Britt stopped herself when she felt the soft nuzzling fur against her arm. She almost wanted to tell Uni to stop, but it had been quite a while since Uni had been able to snuggle her and so she chose to ignore it.

"We're great thanks!" Tinkerbell giggled. "And Hook and Leprechaun... Well, they figured they wouldn't come in because you're in the bath and all."

"Mmm, I know how they feel." Britt nodded. "After all, you would not believe how awkward it is when it comes to getting changed with the girls at the café."

"I bet it's even worse with that Ukraine woman." Flying Mint Bunny added.

It was true. Ukraine really did have enormous 'tracts of land'. In fact she failed to see how on Earth Ukraine was going to dress up tomorrow. After all she was supposedly going to dress as a man and Kiku had said that it had to be as accurate as possible.

"Yes well she really does have huge..." Britt began, but then she stopped and said: "Wait a moment..."

Ukraine... Tracts of land... Cosplaying... Dressing up like a man... Of course! It was so obvious!

"I'VE GOT IT!" Britt yelled, standing up in triumph and luckily managing to not fall over in the bath.

"Baby I appreciate that you had a light bulb bathtub moment but isn't that kind of Greece's thing?" America yelled back.

"Shut up wanker!" Britt snapped.

"Okay! Love ya Britt!"

"Britt... Not for long..." She muttered under her breath.

Then she stepped out of the bath, wrapped herself in a fluffy white towel and quickly made her way down the creaky old stairs. Tinkerbell and Flying Mint Bunny looked at each other, worried.

"Where's she going in such a hurry?" Tinkerbell frowned.

"The basement by the looks of it." Flying Mint Bunny answered.

"To do what?" Tinkerbell asked.

"Perform a spell maybe?" The small bunny suggested.

Both of them frowned. What spell did Britt want to perform in such a hurry? Trying to figure out what was going on, they cast their minds back to what she had said. _'Yes well she really does have huge... Wait a moment..._' She had said, referring to Ukraine.

"Wait... I heard something about tomorrow's cosplay at the place where Britt works." Tinkerbell began. "Apparently they're going to cosplay countries."

"What does that have to do with Ukraine?" Flying Mint Bunny asked.

"I think..." Tinkerbell bit her lip. "I think she's going to turn herself into Ukraine!"

"You sure?" Flying Mint Bunny asked.

"Positive! Either that or she's enlarging her 'tracts of land'!" Tinkerbell panicked. "We'll lose the England that we know! We have to stop her!"

And with that, the two flew downstairs in a panic- desperate to stop her. They could hear her voice chanting the words as they approached the door but not only that, they could see the faint glow of the pentagram and the green sparks bouncing around the circle.

Then all sound and movement ceased. But as Tinkerbell and Flying Mint Bunny flew in, they were greeted with an unexpected sight. In fact they almost dropped out of the air after seeing what lay in the middle of the ominous magic circle.

* * *

**Aah yes, the cliffhanger. Anyone annoyed? Anyone upset? Anyone wanna throw a shoe at me? Tell me how you feel about this puzzling development in the form of a review. Also, if anyone wants to, you can try and take a guess at what the girls might cosplay as.**

**But for now, I shall retire into my cave. See you in the next update.**

**Sayounara minna-san!**

**~Neko**


	8. Nostalgia

**Konnichiwa! Even with all the schoolwork I get, I can still manage to somehow write a chapter of your favourite cosplay café fanfiction! (AT least I hope it's your favourite ^^') And I watch a lot of anime too. So even with my new favourite anime, I can get this chapter out!**

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**Reviews~!**

**coin1996- Enough said indeed. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!  
Greece's kitty- Eureka moments :D Did you like my joke then? What's Iggy doing? You'll just have to read on and find out!  
awesome scones- It's fine. I'll try to make things less confusing if I can.  
Oceanfur- Oh I love my OTP so much. XD The last part of your review made me laugh so much. Very clever. I hope the blood is still all flowing properly by the time you read this.  
pingo1387- Please don't! Will a chapter make you any happier? I hope it does. Shoes can hurt. Especially if it's high heels you're throwing.  
MDWOLFGIRL- A sock? At least it won't hurt. Go ahead and throw it but at least read the chapter first. It might make you want to stop throwing stuff at me. At least I hope so.  
AnonymousHetaliFanGirl- I swear, I must be high on something when I come up with these names. Yeah I hate cliffhangers too. I like your thinking there miss. I'm sure you'll enjoy this chapter.  
Kick-arse Hero- "You called?" Pants? You don't mean knickers right? Because that would be awful. Oh well thanks for wishing me good luck. I really need it!**

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**Random fact: I originally wanted Café Kol to just be an ordinary maid café. Maid cafés are a sub-category of Cosplay cafés and looking back on it, I think it would have been nice to have one in the story. Having said that, I think it's nice to be up against a café of a similar skill level so I guess the change I made was good.  
If you want to google maid cafés and cosplay cafés, feel free. You might find something interesting.**

**Tanoshimi!**

* * *

Somehow, Tinkerbell and Flying Mint Bunny managed to stay afloat, but if they were mere humans then perhaps they may have collapsed to the floor from the pure shock of what they were seeing.

"England..." Tinkerbell whispered.

"N-no way..." Flying Mint Bunny gasped.

In just an instant, Britt had transformed from a beautiful slim young girl into... Well...

That short golden blond hair, those piercing emerald eyes- but most importantly, those amazingly massive eyebrows.

"Mmm..."

England had transformed back into a man.

Tinkerbell and Flying Mint Bunny could barely believe what they were seeing but it was there- right in front of them. Slowly England got to his feet and they saw it more clearly: it was the England that they had known for so long- only more blank faced and still wrapped in a towel that covered him from the top of his chest to halfway down his thighs in a very womanly fashion.

"Did... Did it work?" England asked.

His voice was deeper- nothing like his soft feminine voice. He was slightly broader compared to his slim girly physique. But even though it looked odd and different to what they had been used to, this England was certainly a sight for sore eyes. It was almost comforting to see him once more.

"England! You're a man!" Flying Mint Bunny exclaimed.

"But you're wearing that towel like a woman..." Tinkerbell giggled.

"Thank you friends. I-" Then England looked down to see that Tinkerbell was indeed right. "Sh-shut up!"

England clenched his fists and slammed his foot down slightly- causing the two magical beings to giggle.

"That's the England we know." They giggled in unison.

England said nothing. He simply kept his attention elsewhere- staring off at another corner of the room with his arm still folded. He didn't say anything to the last comment, but somehow, it felt as if he was finally back after a long journey- that a part of him was finally home.

* * *

**The next morning**

* * *

Slowly Alfred woke up, his strong arms stretching out to the head of his girlfriend's bed and his mouth expanding in a tired yawn. He rolled his head over to look at his girlfriend, but he soon discovered that she wasn't there.

"Guess she went downstairs." Alfred muttered under his breath. "Maybe she's still mad about me joking around?"

He stared up at the ceiling and ran a hand through his hair. Then, with an exasperated sigh, he sat up and got out of bed- proceeding to walk downstairs.

"I suppose I better apologise." Alfred whispered. "Must've really got to her this time..."

So Alfred walked down the stairs and into the living room. As he stood in the doorway, he could see the golden mess of hair at the end of the sofa, bringing a small smile to Alfred's face.

"She's a real cutie..." Alfred grinned, approaching England. "The fact she didn't come up and ask me to move is just-"

But then Alfred stopped, both in his speech and in his tracks. As he finally reached the head of the sofa, he soon realised that it was certainly NOT a sweet little girl lying there, nor did it look anything remotely like a woman.

Slowly, with a half-asleep moan and a stretching of the arms, it became clear that England was awake. He squeezed his eyes even tighter shut before gradually flickering them open.

"Oh." He yawned. "It's you."

Alfred still found himself at a loss for words as England sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. It seemed that Alfred was in a complete state of speechlessness and shock- while Arthur was acting like nothing had changed at all.

"I suppose you want some breakfast." Arthur sighed, standing up. "So don't worry, I'll make you some. And don't go thinking I'm doing it just for you! I'm only making you some because I happen to be preparing breakfast for myself as well."

Not even England's usual tsundere charms could change the emotion set on Alfred's face. It seemed (for the moment at least) that his face was permanently set to stunned.

* * *

**Later**

* * *

Nothing was said over the breakfast table. In fact it was disturbingly quiet, despite the fact that this was America sitting at the table with him. England had tried a few times to provoke him into speaking but every time was answered with small grunts of approval, or even more silence. England had a right mind to get frustrated or snap at him, but he decided against it in the end.

So the table was cleaned up in complete silence and England went to go pack his clothes for the day into his bag. He didn't say any more to America- or rather, he didn't even _try_ to speak to him as there seemed to be no point.

In fact, he had come to the conclusion that America was not in favour in this sudden turn of events. He had concluded that America had actually liked him better as a girl, and now that he was a man again it had made things awkward between them.

So as England opened the door, prepared to face what would certainly be an interesting day at work with that thought looming over him, he sighed heavily: it seemed that America only liked him for one thing, and it wasn't a very good relationship if him being girl was all that was holding them together.

But as England took his first step out of the door, he stopped in his tracks as he heard a certain loud-mouthed nation screeching out his name.

"ENGLAND!"

In response to his name, England stopped and turned around only to have a set of lips collide into his- sealing them in a kiss.

Usually when they kissed England would close his eyes. But they were open this time. Wide open so that he could fully believe and see for himself what was happening. America was there right in front of him and he was being kissed. He was being kissed by America and he wasn't even a woman!

But England had to admit, although the sudden kiss was surprising and had certainly changed his mind about the conclusion he had reached before, he couldn't help but notice that this kiss felt exactly the same as the ones he had experienced as a girl.

That was all the proof that England needed to realise that America still felt exactly the same way. Perhaps his feelings were even stronger? That was just the impression that the older nation got as he felt America's hand snaking down his back, running dangerously close to his-

"HEY!" England yelled as he broke the kiss, pushing America away. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

"Sorry, had to be done." Alfred grinned childishly. "You just look so cute Bri- I mean, Ar-thur~!"

Alfred's smile was a whole lot better than the blank staring look from before. In fact it even made Arthur smile in turn. Just a little.

"W-well I have to be going." Arthur stuttered, blushing ever so slightly.

Arthur slung the bag onto his shoulder and walked briskly out of the door with Alfred still staring after him, still grinning like a happy child.

"Your blush still looks the same as when you were a chick." Alfred smirked.

"Shut up!" Arthur yelled, quickening his pace as he stepped off the porch.

"Okay love ya dude! I'll see ya after work!" Alfred called. "Have a good day Artie!"

Arthur sighed. _**Here we go down the 'Artie' road again.**_

* * *

**Later**

* * *

The first step that Arthur took into the café was shortly followed by a nostalgic bucket falling on top of his head. Angelique, who was cleaning a table at that moment in time, glanced up quickly to see that someone had entered. But all she could see was a man's body while the head was covered by a pale grey bucket.

"Oh I'm so sorry sir!" Angie apologised in a panic, rushing over to Arthur's aid and proceeding to pull the bucket off his head. "Are you alr-"

But the moment the bucket was pulled off, Angie's jaw dropped- as did the bucket. So the cylindrical tub rolled away, forgotten as Angie gaped at the sight before her. As Arthur's sight returned to him, he could quite clearly see two things.

Angie's face was contorted into an expression of pure shock. Her eyes were ever so slightly more open, compared to their normal size and her mouth was shaped into a perfect letter 'o'.

Her outfit. It was quite clearly a dark green military uniform, with a red armband on her left arm that was decorated with a single star. Angie's hair was back in a ponytail and on her back was a basket, staying on with the aid of shoulder straps and carrying a cute plush panda in the compartment.

"Let me guess, you're China." Arthur smiled.

Angie still said nothing. Arthur was beginning to get quite amused with her reaction, and the thought of other people's reactions increased the urge to laugh.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Arthur frowned, feigning confusion and pretending to be oblivious to her shock.

Arthur was rather impressed with himself for being able to keep it together. In fact, he was finding it quite hard not to laugh at his own humour. It wasn't something _on_ his face that was causing Angie to be like this. It _was _his face!

"Come now Angie, you look like you've seen a ghost." Arthur smirked.

The gentle approach of familiar footsteps could be heard as the two stood at the entrance of the café. Before they knew it, another girl was entering the dining area through the back door that led to the kitchen.

"Hey Angie, are you-?"

Judging from the voice, Arthur could tell that it was Elizaveta. Pushing his powers of deduction further, he could also tell that she had stopped talking due to shock from seeing him in the café. He looked up, smiled and held up a hand to wave.

"Hello Eliza." He smiled.

Eliza stood there, stunned for a few moments before running straight upstairs yelling: "Japan? Japan, come and see this!"

Arthur couldn't help it this time so he began to chuckle- clearly amused and unable to control his laughter any longer. However, his laughter quickly died down as he realised what he had just seen.

"Wait a minute!" England yelled. "Was Eliza cosplaying _me_?!"

* * *

_**Later**_

* * *

"She was only having a little fun you know."

Roderich rolled his eyes again and sighed. How many times had he been made to repeat this now? Admittedly, even a slow easygoing nation like him was getting annoyed but still he stood patiently outside the male bathroom with his arms folded irritably- waiting for England to re-emerge.

"She's evil I tell you! I knew there was something up when I asked her what she was going to be wearing!" England snapped.

"Are you done yet? I want to start my music." Austria sighed.

"You and your music..." England groaned. "Alright, I'm coming out now."

Then the door opened and out walked Arthur. But not only that, Arthur walked out in his cosplay for the day.

The first feature that Roderich noticed was the boots. Then his eyes were slowly directed upwards, from his black baggy trousers, right up to his bright red coat and pure white shirt with a ruffled collar and dotted with jewels here and there on this outfit. After that it was the black eye patch, then the fluffy, flamboyant black hat.

"What do you think?" Arthur grinned.

"I think you look like a pirate." Roderich muttered.

"Perfect." Arthur chuckled but then he stopped to add: "What are you exactly?"

"I'm me." Roderich explained quickly.

"You're you?" Arthur frowned.

"Yes."

"You mean... You're yourself?"

"Yes I think we've established that. It isn't a problem is it?"

"Well it's just..." Arthur began. "You look like you normally do really."

"What's wrong with that?" Roderich asked.

"Well it's a little dull to be honest." Arthur sighed.

"_You're_ cosplaying yourself."

"That's different. I'm being myself from a different time period entirely. I even changed my gender for this one."

"Then I'm dressing as myself from last Thursday. Happy now?"

"Not exactly."

* * *

"Ah good. We are all ready then." Kiku nodded, inspecting everyone's outfits closely.

All of the girls (including Austria) were lined up neatly for Japan to see their outfits. It was quite clear who they all were. Arthur was obviously himself as a pirate, Eliza was the female version of Arthur (otherwise known as Britt), Lili was her dear brother Switzerland and Angie was the world's oldest nation: the People's Republic of China. It seemed that Kat had not turned up yet, but this wasn't noticed by everyone at that point in time. What was noticed however was Austria's 'cosplay'.

"Just a second Kiku." Eliza frowned. "Austria isn't dressed properly."

"Austria-san. Did you forget about the outfits today?" Kiku asked politely.

"No, I'm dressing as myself." Roderich stated bluntly. "England's doing it too."

"Hai, but England-san is from a different time period and he has changed his gender." Kiku explained, much to the delight of Arthur- who was smirking to himself. "You however have not really dressed noticeably."

"This will be fine... Won't it?" Roderich frowned.

"I am afraid not. Actually, we figured that you would try something like this." Kiku sighed.

"'We'?" Roderich tilted his head.

"Hungary-san, if you please." Kiku instructed.

Then, as if on cue, Eliza stood up straight and rushed behind Austria- forcing his two hands behind his back and holding them there with just her one hand. Then she began pushing him in the direction of the nearby closet- the very same that Arthur had often been forced into on many occasions as a girl.

"Eliza! Eliza, unhand me this instant!" Roderich snapped.

"Sorry Roderich." She bit her lip, making an expression of hurt- as if it pained her to do this.

Even though Arthur felt sorry for Roderich being forced in that way, Arthur actually felt quite amused at the same time. After all, this was one of those moments where Arthur had the temptation to say 'I told you so' but even more than that, he was glad that he was not the one being forced for once.

* * *

After a few minutes filled with suspense, Eliza figured that Roderich was finished. Arthur and the other waitresses had not seen the outfit that Roderich had been given, but judging from the eager grin on Eliza's face- they knew it was going to be good.

"Roderich! Are you ready?" Eliza called.

"...No." Roderich muttered.

"Come on Roderich, I know you're ready." Eliza sighed.

"I would go to the piano and express my anger, but for your information I am not going to be leaving this closet until the end of the day. Good day to you all." Roderich explained.

_**Wow he sounds serious... Just how bad is this outfit?**_

"Well if you insist..." Eliza shrugged her shoulders.

Then with a sneaky smirk, she tiptoed over to the closet door and carefully grasped her hand around the handle. With one swift motion, she turned it and swung the door wide open- so fast that Roderich barely had any time to stop her.

There Roderich stood in all his cosplay glory. At first, Arthur noticed the head. His Mariazell had been forced down to the side. Naturally, Arthur assumed that this was Eliza's work from when she first forced him in. Then Arthur noticed the white headband- a little girly one had to admit but that was _nothing _compared to the rest of the outfit.

To put it simply, Roderich was wearing a dress. It was an olive green dress which was frilly underneath and had a pure white apron over the top. Eliza was the first to start giggling. Eventually Arthur realised who he was and simply couldn't hold back a laugh as Eliza led him over to the piano.

"You look so adorable Austria." Eliza giggled. "Or should I say... _Italy_..."

* * *

**Don't need to explain the cosplays here, they were all mentioned above. ^^**

**By the way, if anyone reads any of my other fics, you will notice that today I also updated my fic Forgotten, but not gone. You see I am celebrating today because one year ago on the 9th of December 2011, I first started watching Hetalia. I had no friends in the fandom yet apart from the person that had introduced me and it didn't take long before I started writing fanfics. It's been a great year! I just love all the friends I've made with this wonderful fandom! Not to mention the wonderful readers I've gained!**

**So thank you all! Sayounara minna-san!**

**~Neko**


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